Life as A Fairy Tail
by Funtom65
Summary: Anis Funtom was a normal girl that has both a happy & maddening life. When she thinks she's having fun with her life, things change when she finds out she isn't normal after all. She's hit with emotional things & her heart and mind will be tested while she works hard to manage her inhuman & magical abilities .Above is the Insignia for DIAMONDHEART guild.
1. Two Top students, Two Idiots

CHAPTER 1:

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock. I groaned with annoyance & felt for the off button. Once I pushed it down, the ringing stopped & it was peaceful again. When I was about to fall asleep again, my phone rang. I growled angrily & pulled the phone from my side table. I squinted at the number & my mouth twitched to see it was my best friend Akira calling. I sighed deeply & decided to answer.

"What?" I hissed.

"ANIS! Hurry up & get to school! Mrs. Grimore will be talking about the sports festival tomorrow!" she squealed excitedly. Once she squealed, something in me snapped. I really wasn't a morning person.

"You know, I don't care about what Mrs. Grim's going to say about the festival. It's only 6 am in the morning & it's still dark outside. I need my sleep." I hissed with a fast voice.

"Ah, whatever. Just get to school if you don't want to be late. We'll be at the auditorium by maybe hmm, 6:15. So hurry up!" she said then hung up. I sighed deeply & decided to take a shower.

Like I have a choice.

I sluggishly got out of bed & went into my bathroom to take a shower. Once I was done, I hanged into our P.E. uniform which consists of black jogging pants & a plain white shirt. Since it was the day before the festival, we could wear our P.E. uniform.

I brushed through the tangles in my long, black hair & once my hair was smooth, I checked the time to see it was only 6:09. I sighed & now that I was awake, I just had to go to school now. I grabbed my sling bag & put in my mp3, cell phone and two thick books. (I have a big sling bag)

I put my white headphones around my neck & went out my room, slamming my door in the process.

Good morning [well, not really.] I'm Anis Funtom. 15 years old, a junior high school student currently living with my Aunt Emily in Japan since my parents- Ciel & Elizabeth Funtom are always out of the country, doing their jobs as presidents for some kind of company. (I don't know what kind but, whatever.)

I wobbly walked down the long & wide marble staircase while rubbing my still sleepy eyes. Big mistake.

Once I got to the last step, I slipped & fell on my butt, hard.

"Ow…"I hissed.

"Careful." I heard a woman's voice say. I looked up at the kitchen to see my auntie Emily sitting on the leather chair while luxuriously sipping what looked like coffee. I blinked & picked myself up then walked into the modern looking kitchen.

"Morning Anis." auntie Emily greeted cheerfully while giving me a huge smile.

"Morning." I replied.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" she giggled.

"Cause' it's too bright outside." I hissed making her giggle once more.

Auntie Emily was a really cheerful person & she barely frowns. She's my dad's older sister & the president of a popular company that sells a very popular brand of cosmetics in Japan. Although she's my dad's older & only sister, she looks more like the younger child. She has shoulder length, brown hair (which was originally black but she had it dyed & like me, she has light purple eyes & ivory white skin.

I walked over to the fridge & grabbed the bottle of root beer I just bought yesterday & took four chocolate filled cakes called Taiyaki from the pantry.

It's a very famous kind of pastry in Japan which is shaped like a fish & it's, of course-baked. I loved Taiyaki & my aunt always buys me these cakes.

I put them in a zip lock bag & put one of them into my mouth while I stuffed the bag filled with the cakes into my sling bag. I bit into the head & walked back to the marble table, facing auntie.

"Hey, look more excited. Like the other kids who always smile while they go to school!" she smiled making the edge of my mouth twitch.

"Don't you have to go to work? And, please, I will never go to school with a smile in my face unless I see pigs fly." I said making her roll her eyes.

"Oh well. Anyway, work's not till' 8 am. hahaha!" she said teasingly.

"Whatever, See ya'." I muttered while walking to the door. Ignoring what she said.

"You meanie!" she cried making me snicker. When I was about to open the double doors made of mahogany, something furry rubbed up against my right leg. I looked down to see my cat Cookie.

My mom & dad gave him to me when I was only 10. That was the time when I was always sick & my body would hurt for absolutely no reason. There was a day I recalled that I had a very high fever & mom and dad took me to the hospital. Once I got home, they gave me a small black Turkish angora.

Since I was always indoors, they said they wanted me to have a friend. To be honest, I get embarrassed whenever someone walks into my room to see me talking with Cookie.

I smiled at him, taking the taiyaki out my mouth & petted his furry head. "Hey Cook. I gotta go to school now. So, see you later." I said & he suddenly started pulling on my pants with his small paws. I blinked & saw he was looking up at me with his light red eyes. It was weird since he looked…worried.

I gave him another smile & left the house. I got out & squinted my eyes from the sun. I groaned & started walking to school since it was only a few walks away.

After a few minutes, I was in front of the black, metal gates of the school & saw all of the students were heading to the auditorium.

The school I go to was a school for both boys and girls & I have to say, it's a really big school with lots of buildings. At the left side of the school's property was where you could see the high school building, the very big library (A.K.A., my paradise), the gym, the huge auditorium & the canteen. And on the right side would be the area for the elementary students.

I sighed & decided there were too many students for me to know where my class is, so, I decided to skip Mrs. Grim's announcement (which I'm sure is really long) & sneaked to the back of the auditorium where our hang out place was at.

I sneaked to the back, avoiding eye contact & walked quickly, doing my best not to be seen & I successfully reached the back of the auditorium. At the back was a small garden filled with small bushes & even a pond filled with colorful fish.

This was actually thanks to the garden club & since we were always here during break times, the garden club let us take care of the fish & expected us to keep the place clean (which we do).

I walked to the back of a tall bush & plopped onto the soft grass. I sighed with delight & lied on my back, staring up at the clouds. I was hidden under the tall trees & there were tons of bushes around here so, I'm sure I won't be caught. While I was reading my book, my phone vibrated from the pocket of my bag. I pulled it out & saw Akira was calling.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you? Iyumi told me she saw you sneaking off to the garden! Why you…"she hissed.

"What? There were already many people at the entrances of the auditorium so, I figured I wouldn't find you guys even if I came in. plus, I don't feel too good." I lied. "Besides, you were so excited about this so, why not enjoy it?" I asked.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I WANTED YOU TO GET HERE SO YOU CAN WITNESS OUR PAIN TOO! YOU DUMMY!" she yelled into the phone. I pulled my phone away from my ear & once she calmed down, I pulled it back.

Then the auditorium went quiet. I suspect that Mrs. Grimore was already there since she silences us by her mere presence.

"Well, you guys are awfully quiet. See you later." I giggled making Akira growl with frustration. It was always fun to tease Akira.

"Fine. We'll come get you later." She sighed then hung up. I snickered then continued reading my book. Just so you know, I barely do this- hide in the garden & sleep instead of going to class.

Honestly I wasn't a bad student. I was never late once in my life & I only cut class once a school year. I was the top female student for my grades & even though I'm a bit of a troublemaker (just a little), the teachers don't get mad at me.

I was reading my book then I suddenly felt sleepy so I decided to stop & lie on my stomach. I closed my eyes & right when I was about to doze to sleep, I heard someone running on the grass.

My eyes flew open & it was too late. The guy tripped over my feet, falling on his face. I blinked & sat up, turning to him.

"Ouch." He muttered under his breath & my brow rose to see a familiar head of brown, messy hair. He raised his head & rubbed his now red nose.

Whoa.

It was the Student Body president-Tamaki Saeki. It was weird for me to see him trip over someone like this. Not that I'm crazy about him but, I just know that he was known in school for being the top male student & he was also known for his looks.

Despite what others say about him being cool, I don't see what's so cool about tripping over a sleeping person.

"Umm, are you okay?" I asked. He blinked then turned to me with a shocked expression. I haven't seen the president up close but I saw he had light brown eyes & he had fair skin for a boy. Oddly, he looks cool even with a twig in his hair.

I blinked at him, confused since he just stared at me. He blinked lots of times then suddenly looked away from me.

"Uh, yeah." He said with a low voice. He pulled himself up & dusted himself.

"Umm, can you not tell anyone about this?" he laughed with embarrassment. I blinked then shrugged my shoulders.

When I was about to say 'sure', he raised his brow at me & shook his head with a smirk on his face. He fully turned to me & looked down at me with that smirk with his arms crossed in front of him.

I realized he wasn't wearing the P.E. uniform & instead he was wearing the normal one-brown pants, a brown blazer with a white button down shirt & a black tie. Our girl's uniform had the same blazer & tie but we of course wore green knee-length skirts but since I was boyish, I asked my aunt who had connections with Mrs. Grimore & asked her to let me wear pants instead. So, they let some of the girls (including me) wear the same kinds of pants but ours were darker than that boys'.

He then smirked at me. "Why aren't you in the auditorium?" he asked with confidence in his voice. I gave him a dumbfounded expression.

"Hey...you're out here too." I said, pointing my finger at him, making him flinch a bit & He looked away, stubbornly.

"Well, I have my reasons." He said & I rolled my eyes at him.

"So, unless you want me to tell on you, go into the auditorium _now_." he ordered & I raised my brow at him with amazement. I chuckled darkly & stood up, dusting myself. I then looked at him with amusement in my eyes.

"Sorry, but, I'm not in the mood to listen to anybody's orders right now, much less a guy with a twig in his hair." I taunted, pointing to the twig in his hair.

He looked up & pulled down the twig, his face reddening. He blinked at me & we stared at each other, unsmiling.

To my surprise, he suddenly grinned.

"You're Anis right? Don't you think it would be bad for people to hear _you_-the top female student slacking off while they're suffering in there?" He chuckled darkly.

Hearing that just made me laugh.

"Excuse me, but don't _you_ think its _worse_ for people to hear that the student body _president_ is wasting his time here & saying that the people hearing Mrs. Grimore's announcement are suffering?" I challenged making his jaw fall.

How idiotic & he's actually the top male student.

"Please, save yourself the embarrassment & just go. While I'll pretend I heard & saw nothing." I smiled evilly.

"Oh, and don't call me with only my first name." I chuckled. It was a little annoying when someone who's not close to you suddenly calls you by your first name.

He looked down at me with dark eyes & a forced smile.

Right when he was about to say something, someone tapped my shoulder & we both froze. I turned stiffly & almost shrieked to see our class advisor right behind me with an evil look on his face.

"Well, well, well, who would ever think that the two top students will be receiving punishment for skipping the principals announcements?" he chuckled darkly making my jaw drop.

Lesson learned: Never skip class. But in my case, I learned: find a better hiding spot & as much as possible; avoid clashing with the student council members [especially the _stupid_ president-A.K.A., Tamaki Saeki] in the process.

NOTE: people reading this; please do not copy their examples. These actions only lead to horrible punishment.


	2. a Dinosaur raids School

CHAPTER 2:

"Thanks a lot, because of you; we have to clean up all this mess." He hissed with annoyance while he angrily swept the fallen leaves on the grass.

"If you just left me alone, we wouldn't _be_ in this situation." I hissed back.

This was the punishment we get for skipping Mrs. Grim's announcement. Well, I have to admit, it was better to clean up the entire school grounds until 9 than listen to her prattle about the sports festival. Right now, we were at the back of the auditorium, in the pathway leading to the small grotto.

I then remembered something.

"Hey." I called, making Tamaki look up at me through his lashes.

"Why were you running?" I asked while I swept the dried leaves away from myself & to the tree. He wasn't replying so I looked up to see he was frozen, looking down at the grass.

I sighed & leaned down; picking up a small pebble, then threw it at him. Once it hit the back of his neck, He flinched a bit, his hand flying to the place where the rock hit.

"WHAT?" he roared.

"You didn't answer me." I said, ignoring his outburst. He blinked lots of times then snorted. He then walked up to me with a smirk on his face.

I blinked at him & once our eyes met, I just froze. I wanted to back away & hit his head but instead I just stood there, staring at him like some idiot. He got closer & leaned forward, his face inches from mine.

"It's none of your business." He whispered into my ear. My face felt hot & I growled then karate chopped his head.

"OW! What was that for?" he yelled, rubbing his head.

"You didn't have to come close, idiot." I hissed looking away from him & hiding my embarrassment. I heard him chuckle under his breath & my mouth twitched. I checked my watch to see it was only 7:00 & Mrs. Grimore was still going on about her announcements. I sighed & swept faster. Once we're done here, the only area left for today would be the class rooms. After that, we stayed quit, continuing our work.

It's already 7:30 & we were finished with the areas we had to clean today but now, we aren't allowed to go into the auditorium.

I heard that all the students were watching the cheer dances some of the students prepared & they were showing awesome skills. But since we weren't allowed, we just sat under a tree, looking up at the sky as time went by.

I sighed & started playing music with my headphones on. Suddenly, I felt a chill run down my spine & my hands tingled. I blinked & looked around. Nothing strange. I pulled down my headphones then I heard the song of a bird. But I've never heard it before.

"Whoa." I muttered.

"What is it?" Tamaki asked.

"You don't hear that?" I asked him. Listening to the sad, but beautiful melody of the bird's song.

I turned to Tamaki & saw he was listening intently. At first he looked like it was something normal, but then, his eyes changed & he immediately stood up.

"Come on." He urged, frantically looking around. I blinked at him with confusion.

"Huh? Why?" I asked while I stood up, taking my bag. He then grabbed my left arm & we ran out the garden.

"Hey! What are you doing? It's only a bird you idiot!" I yelled with a smirk, trying not to laugh at him. If he was scared by a bird, he's totally a weird president.

I waited for him to yell at me but he ignored me & kept running with my wrist in his hand. I looked down at them & saw he was gripping my wrist tightly.

"Hey! Let go! Where on earth are we going?" I yelled making him flinch & suddenly stop. My nose hit his back.

"Ow! Jeez…running like a maniac then stopping so suddenly." I muttered with annoyance.

He still ignored me & stood still. I looked up at him & realized he was really tall.

I slowly walked up in front of him & saw his face. He was staring down at the ground & it looked like he was focusing on something. I tilted my head & looked around then listening for the bird. It was silent around us.

"Hey, Prez. Relax. That bird's gone." I said, hiding my amused smile. He then looked up at me through his lashes. I blinked at him & it ended up that we were staring at each other. After a while, my face began to feel hot & I looked away from him.

"What? Come on, let's go. I think the announcements are done. So…if you don't want us to be seen together, then let's head to the classrooms." I urged. I didn't look at him since I was still feeling embarrassed. So I looked up at the high school buildings with my arms crossed in front of me.

I heard him sigh. "Come on then." He said. I glanced at him & he walked past me with his right hand in his pocket. He turned to me.

"Hurry up." he urged with an annoyed face then kept walking to the HS building.

"Tsk." I clicked then followed him.

We got to our building & I headed towards the 3rd floor where our classroom was. Tamaki was in front of me & I realized he was slowing down in front of my classroom. III-1. To my surprise, he nonchalantly went in.

"Oi. This isn't your classroom." I slowly said. That bird really must've frightened him. It looks like his brain was pulled out when he heard it.

He slowly turned to me & he had a half-pained, half-angry expression.

"We're in the same class idiot." he hissed through his teeth. I blinked at him with confusion & looked at the board where the class officer's names were.

My jaw fell when I saw; President-Tamaki Saeki.

"Huh? Since when? I've never seen you around here." I said making him flinch. He turned away from me, heading to the seat on the 2nd row, next to the window.

"I sit right in front of you." he hissed. I blinked at him, thinking of a day I ever saw him.

"Hmmm…nope. Still can't remember." I said making him hit his face.

"YOU'RE A HORRIBLE PERSON, FUNTOM!" he roared angrily. My jaw fell.

"HEY! I MIGHT'VE NOT REMEMBERED YOU CAUSE' HALF MY TIMES IN SCHOOL ARE ALWAYS SPENT HELPING ALL THE TEACHERS! WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE?" I roared back.

"I'm the student body president! I always get called too!" he yelled back. We then froze & blinked.

"Huh. Well, then, you don't have the right to yell at me. Since you're always being called out & I'm only in class half of the day, it's an obvious reason why we don't know each other." I said quickly.

"What are you saying? Just last week, I was announcing something in homeroom & you were there." He reminded. I thought hard & remembered.

"Oh yeah! I was there…but I was sleeping." I confessed making him flinch again. His head fell & he sat on his chair.

"Ah, whatever. Anyway, we have to stay here until the class gets back." he said, taking out a small booklet then reading through it.

I walked to my desk then hung my bag on the chair, sitting down in the process. I stared out the window, bored.

"Hey, why are you scared of birds?" I blurted out.

"Huh?" he asked turning to me.

"You ran like a cheetah when you heard that bird." I reminded. He blinked at me then rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't scared, it's just that…" he trailed off, as if he didn't know what to say.

"Never mind. Forget it." I said, taking out my mp3 &continued listening to music. I guess I should stop pestering him for now. I put my arms on the table then buried my face in them.

After a while, I drifted off to sleep.

"Anis…" I heard a voice say. I ignored it, trying to sleep.

"ANIS!"

"Huh?" I muttered, blinking my sleepy eyes. I then looked up to see my friends.

"Anis. You're so lucky to have skipped that orientation. It was dead air in there." My other best friend Iyumi said.

Iyumi Fujioka was a small girl. She has long, black hair & she was really beautiful. She, Akira & I have been best friends since preschool since we all lived near each other's houses. Like me, she was wearing the P.E. uniform. I looked around to see everyone else was here already & some were eating their snacks and some were chatting.

I jumped when someone slammed their hand on my desk. I looked up to see Akira smiling down at me with dark eyes. I gulped. If I knew she was going to be this mad, I never would've thought of skipping that orientation.

Akira Daishi looked like a gentle girl with her short, black, pixie like hair & grey eyes, but in truth, she was really noisy & she's scary when she's mad.

Like she is now.

"You…when we went to the garden you weren't here. But instead, you were with the prez. Don't tell me you're with him? As a couple." she asked making me flinch.

My body shook & I just laughed. They both stared at me like I was a freak.

"Him? Oh please." I simply said.

"Then what happened? Why weren't you in the garden? You know how long we looked for you?" Akira growled.

"Relax." I said, and then told them the whole story.

"Ohoho. Really? Well, it seems like the prez. Isn't as cool as we all think." Iyumi snickered evilly.

"Yeah. He's a total fool." I said loudly since Tamaki was still sitting in front of us with lots of people circling him. From the corner of my eye, I saw him flinch.

"Hey, you can't say that. You were also caught by sensei." Akira said, making me freeze. I rolled my eyes & Akira sat on the window sill.

"Oh well, I'm excited for the festival tomorrow. Iyumi, are you participating?" Akira asked, excitedly.

Iyumi nodded with a smile. "Yep. Hikaru's participating too." She said with an excited smile. I blinked at them, unable to play along. I don't see what's so fun about sweating.

Hikaru Fujimoto was Iyumi's boyfriend. He was also our childhood friend & he was a really crazy guy but, he was still fun & sweet.

"Hey guys!"

We all turned to the door to see Hikaru. Right on cue. He had messy, black hair & light red eyes. He looked like he just woke up & he had a piece of bread in his hand.

"Hey Hika." We greeted in unison. He put his bag on his seat on the front row then he skipped towards us then put his arm around Iyumi's shoulders.

"So, you guys participating in the festival?" he asked.

"Yeah. But I don't think Anis will." Iyumi giggled.

I had a sour look on my face.

"That's right. I'll be happy just watching you guys." I said.

"Oh Anis, here!" Hikaru gasped & rummaged in his pockets, then took out a small USB.

"All the songs you wanted are there." He grinned then handed them to me. I realized it wasn't a USB but an actual mp3 player. It was just so tiny. Actually, it was Hikaru's.

"Hey, I asked for a USB. This is your mp3." I said.

"I know. I didn't have a USB, so just put the songs into your computer." He said. I nodded then handed it back to him.

"Hold on to it until we go home." I said then he put it back in his pocket.

"What are we doing today?" Hikaru asked.

"Nothing much. We just have to watch some cheers for tomorrow." Akira said.

Suddenly, Tamaki stood up the walked to the door.

"Everybody, line up. It's time to go back down." he called, making us all line up. When I was going to my place, someone called my name. I looked to the door to see our homeroom teacher & Tamaki.

I walked up to them, wondering what they wanted this time.

"You two won't be able to watch the cheers." He said making me sigh with disappointment.

"Why not?" I asked.

"The student council needs to go to a seminar & the top students need to help with the festival plans. Go to the 4th floor, the student council's meeting room." He said the pushed us out the door.

I blinked in confusion & sighed. "Jeez. Can't enjoy my day can I?" I muttered under my breath.

"Let's go." I said, and then we headed to the meeting room.

While we were walking up the stairs, I oddly felt scared. I trailed after Tamaki, staying close to him. The atmosphere was so thick & it was like someone was watching us. I was too focused on the things around me & bumped into Tamaki.

"Hey. What's up with you?" he asked, turning to me. But I was frozen. He stared at me then blinked.

"Hey. What's wrong? What is it?" he asked repeatedly. I blinked then shook my head.

"Nothing." I said with a squeaky voice. Drat. He'll find out I'm scared out of my wits. I walked ahead of him then saw the sign- "Meeting room". I walked faster, eager to see other people but once I opened the door, I saw the weirdest thing.

The student council members weren't there & coming in through the window was a huge black dinosaur like thing that made my heart stop.

It looked like a giant bird but it had black hairless skin & glowing red eyes. I started shaking & slowly backed away from the door, closing it in the process.

"Hey, what are you-"

I covered Tamaki's mouth & the door closed without a sound.

"We have to get out of here." I said. I tried not to sound scared but my voice failed me & my voice shook. Suddenly, I heard that song again but it was more…eerie & it sounded horrible. Not like the beautiful song I heard earlier.

"Tamaki…" I whispered & the hallway darkened. Like there was a storm outside.

"Anis. Calm down." he said & I realized I was shaking. I turned to him & saw he was staring at the door.

I stood next to him & when I was about to pull him away, there was a horrible cry that made my ears ring. I covered my ears from the sound & the door started banging violently. Like the creature inside was trying to get out.

"Tamaki, let's go!" I yelled in a whisper. He growled then pushed me to the stairs. We had to warn the others, although I doubt that they'll believe us. We ran down but once we got to the 3rd floor, it was empty & it was dark here as well. I stared at the dark hallway & my hands started shaking.

"Anis, don't worry. I'm here." Tamaki said & I turned to him. He looked so serious & unlike me, he wasn't afraid. Suddenly, we heard a loud BANG! From the upper floor.

"What did you see in there?" he asked me while we backed away from the stairs.

"Umm…some kind of weird dinosaur-bird thing with red eyes." I said & we kept quiet.

At first we heard nothing, but then I heard a clicking sound. Like pebbles hitting the floor. Or claws.

"That's a Coor." Tamaki suddenly said. My eyes widened.

"How do you know?" I asked, panicking.

"I'll tell you the details later but now, we have to get out of this illusion." He said, looking around the dark hallway. He then walked away from me & I started panicking.

"Hey! Wait!" I cried.

"Stay there. Calm down. I won't leave." he said, turning to me with serious & gentle eyes. My heart beat like a drum & I nodded. He turned away from me then raised his right hand.

"Listen, once I snap my fingers, I want you to run down the stairs as fast as you can. No matter what you see, keep running." He said without looking at me.

"Huh? What are you talking about? What are you going to do? Snap your fingers then that thing will disappear?" I yelled then he turned to me with a smirk.

"Not the Coor, but we'll be able to get out of this illusion. Just do what I say." He said.

I hesitated at first but since he seemed so sure, I nodded.

He turned away from me then he snapped his fingers.

I jumped down the stairs & ran down. The weird thing was, no matter how many times I ran down, I kept on going down the same staircase. Like a never ending loop. I was getting horribly scared & after I ran down the 5th time, I was at the lower floor & it was light again. The campus was empty & I could hear the other student's cheering at the gym.

I turned to the building & backed away.

"TAMAKI!" I yelled.

Suddenly, the window on the 3rd floor burst & I saw the creature with dark skin come out. It was more horrible in the light than it was in the dark.

It had black skin & huge wings that could envelope me. It had a sharp black beak & it flew over me, the wind tackling my back. It flew high in the air & I froze when I saw it coming back. But this time, it was coming for me. I stood there, frozen. Even though my conscience screamed 'run!', my legs wouldn't work.

It was getting closer & I saw its glowing red eyes. It seemed to smile evilly at me then it opened it large beak, letting out a horrible screech.

"ANIS!" Tamaki yelled. Right when I thought I was going to be bitten in half, the bird exploded. Glittering, white powder fell from the sky & in front of me was a tall guy with messy, black hair. Although I didn't know who he was, I had the feeling I knew him.

He then turned to me & I saw a guy about my age with light red eyes. He was wearing black pants, an open blazer & a white button down shirt.

"Anis." he said with a strong yet gentle voice. I blinked at him with confusion.

What is going on?


	3. Info Overload

CHAPTER 3:

"Anis." the guy said. I blinked at him & from what my mom used to say- "don't talk to strangers." I slowly backed away from him.

"ANIS!"

I turned to the building & saw Tamaki running towards me.

"About time you showed up." Tamaki told the guy in black.

"You know him?" I asked & the guy looked at me & smiled.

"Tamaki, try & do your job better. You weren't put in this school with Anis for nothing. Let her get hurt & I'll skin you alive." the guy threatened with his musical voice, making shivers run down my spine.

Tamaki scowled at him & the guy turned to me. He walked up to me & I stared up at him, my face feeling hot. His long bangs covered his eyes a bit so he peeked from under them. Once I saw his face, I almost had a heart attack.

He had such a flawless face & he had hypnotic light red eyes. He looked so…umm…how should I say this...Godly.

The next thing that happened almost made me fall to my knees.

He leaned over then kissed my forehead, making my heart flutter. Instead of falling to my knees, I froze & he patted my head.

"See you later Anis." he said & left. Honestly, my mind went blank.

"HEY!" Tamaki yelled & chased after the guy in black but I couldn't even move. They were arguing about something & I blinked. Remembering what happened.

I suddenly felt light headed & the trees were multiplying then they were moving.

"Right anis?" I heard Tamaki yell, but when I was going to tell him to be quiet, I simply fell & lost consciousness.

I opened my eyes to see I was in my room, lying on the bed. I blinked & sat up. I looked around, seeing my comfort zone. My room is one of the places I would always be in. (obviously.)

I've been here since I was 11 & the room hasn't changed much. The same polished wooden floor, bathroom & private balcony. The only things that were new were my bed which turned into a queen sized bed, and all the appliances were high-tech. (I liked the sound system best.)

I took a deep breath & remembered everything.

The flying dinosaur, the guy in black, Tamaki snapping his fingers & so on.

"A dream?" I muttered sleepily. I glanced out my balcony doors & saw it was dark outside. I got out of bed & once the blanket fell off me, my eyes widened. I was still wearing my P.E. uniform. If I was, then all that happened wasn't a dream.

"This is…" I muttered, not knowing what to say. I ran out my room & heard voices from the kitchen. I heard my aunt & my parents. Thank goodness their here. I ran down the long stairs, almost slipping on the floor again.

"MOM! DAD!" I shouted. I got to the kitchen & froze to see Tamaki & the guy in black along with my parents & aunt.

I focused on my parents & was relieved to see my mom's gentle smile.

"Anis!" she yelled happily. I kinda looked like her but she was beautiful. She had long black hair, flawless skin & purple eyes.

I ran to her & we hugged each other. It's been such a long time since they've come back.

"Mom, I think I'm going nuts." I simply said making her laugh.

"Hey, give me a hug too."

I turned to see my dad looking down at me with a grin. I grinned back & hugged him. Dad was a really cool guy & I don't look like him that much. He had black hair & grey eyes plus, he's really tall & I can see the dimples on his cheeks even when he speaks. Guess that was one of the things mom liked dad.

He put me down & I glanced at Tamaki but he blinked at me & looked away.

"Umm, can you guys tell me what's going on?" I asked & my parents looked at each other.

"Anis…this, all that's happening…you better sit down." my mom said, taking me to the sofa.

Then, she poured out everything & I just kept quiet.

"So, let me get this straight, we aren't normal humans & we are people called Spellslingers or simply-Mages? And that, our family is the most powerful clan of them all?" I asked & my mom nodded.

"But, why is Tamaki involved?" I asked.

"Tamaki is the son of Takarai Saeki-One of the 5 legendary Mages. He's my friend & he offered to help." Dad said.

"What do you mean? Am I in danger or something?" I asked & mom looked at me with troubled eyes.

"You can tell me you know." I said & she sighed.

"Nothing's after you Anis."

I turned to see the guy in black was the one who talked. He leaned on the stone pillar, looking at us with serious eyes.

"She needs to go to Fiore now." he said, walking to us then sitting next to auntie.

"Fiore? Where's that?" I asked.

"It's where we really live. That's where your father & I have been. We're taking care of a guild you see. A guild called DiamondHeart." Mom explained.

"Then, why did you leave me here?" I suddenly blurted out, feeling lonely.

"Honey, I know it's cruel to you but, when we bought you to Fiore, you hated it there so much, you wouldn't stop crying until we went back to the human world." mom explained. I blinked then I suddenly remembered.

"Who's he?" I asked, pointing to the guy in black who had a surprised expression. Suddenly, I heard a ring. My dad rummaged through his pockets & took out a gold pocket watch.

"Ahh, it's an emergency. The guild's under attack." Dad sighed.

"Again? And with such bad timing." She sighed. They both stood up & mom kissed my cheek then dad gave me another bear hug. They both turned to the front doors & I froze with disbelief.

"Hey! Wait! I have more things to ask! Where you going?" I asked, chasing them. Once my dad pulled the doors, instead of our front garden & huge metal gates far off, there was only a swirling darkness inside.

My mom turned to me. "I'm sorry honey, but we have to go. Our other home is in danger. Your aunt will explain things to you & from now on, you have to be stronger & you have to be ready for more things to come." She said & they disappeared.

I blinked, frozen in place. At first, my eyes were wide with disbelief then they quickly turned to an annoyed look.

"_What is this_?" I hissed then turned, stomping to the stairs & heading to my room.

"Huh? Where are you going?" auntie asked.

"My room." I simply said. I had enough of this. My brain feels like it's going to explode any minute now & I just _had_ to take a break from all this craziness. I glanced up the clock & saw it was already 9 pm.

"Can we continue this tomorrow? I'm tired…" I simply said & went to my room while I felt my aunt & Tamaki staring at my back.

Once I took a bath & changed into my normal sleeping clothes which were jogging pants & a t-shirt, I plopped onto bed & stared up at the ceiling.

"Ah, Jeez!" I sighed. All this about magic, Mages, Coors & a place called Fiore is making my brain overheat.

But, more importantly, where's Cookie? I looked around my room, trying to find my cat but I was unsuccessful. I growled & jumped out of bed. I plugged my game console & started playing games that usually get my mind off things.

While I was bashing my opponent, I heard a knock on the door. I turned off the game & stood in front of the door, thinking if I should let the person in. I sighed & pulled the knob to see Tamaki with his back turned to me.

"Tamaki." I called. He whirled & cleared his throat.

"Hard to take in everything in one day huh?" he asked, walking up to me then leaning on the doorway.

"Yeah. Seriously, if there are more dinosaurs coming, at least give me a warning." I said making him smile, showing a set of perfect, white teeth.

"Sure. Anyway, get some rest. Oh, and keep your windows shut." He reminded & turned away from me, heading to the stairs. I stared at his back & shut the door. I jumped back into bed & stared up at the ceiling. Maybe some music will let me relax.

As I was about to reach for the side table where my mp3 usually was, I stopped & remembered I had left my bag in school. I clenched my fist & growled.

"My bag…idiot." I hissed to myself. I growled with irritation & figured either Akira or Iyumi would take it with them. After a while of reading tons of books, I drifted off to sleep.

I groaned & stretched my arms, I didn't want to wake up. Yesterday I just found out lots of things & I'm still trying to let it all sink in. I felt around for my favorite pillow & caught the pillowcase. I pulled it to my face then snuggled my nose into it. I sighed happily & felt as if all my worries will melt into the pillow.

Right when I was about to fall asleep, someone suddenly fell on top of me. My eyes flew open & I saw my aunt looking down at me with a smile on her face.

"Morning anis!" she greeted then hugged me. My mouth twitched with irritation (like I said, I wasn't a morning person.) & I pulled away from Auntie Emily.

"Jeez! Auntie!" I roared making her giggle. I hate her cheerfulness. She let me go & I was too close to the edge of my bed so I fell on the floor, landing on my back.

"Ow." I muttered. Auntie Emily popped up from above me & tilted her head to one side.

"Why is that you always fall down during the morning? What? a morning routine to wake yourself?" she teased. I rolled my eyes in response.

Since I was still groggy, I tripped a bit but I managed to get back into bed.

"What is it Auntie? Where's Cookie by the way?" I asked, trying to look for him but again, he still wasn't there. Suddenly, my aunt snickered. I turned to her to see her biting her lips, trying not to let out laughter I guess. She was shaking with laughter & honestly, I was half-scared & half-worried.

Scared because I'm afraid my aunt's gone nuts & worried cause' I might catch her weirdness too.

"Sorry, I just remembered a funny situation. You were saying?" she asked, still giggling. I blinked at her & then backed away a bit.

"Uh, I was asking if you've seen Cookie around?" it was a pretty simple question but my auntie giggled.

"Oh, he must be…roaming around." she said with a sly smile. She stood up & I realized she was wearing a green dress & her wavy brown hair was in a high ponytail.

"Where you going?" I asked & she walked to the door.

"I just have to settle something. You don't need to go to school today & you should get something to eat." she said then shut my door. I blinked & got out of bed. I went to the bathroom to take a bath. Once I was done, I changed into black sweat pants & a white t-shirt. I left my room & went downstairs, heading for the kitchen.


	4. I find out My Cat isn't A cat

CHAPTER 4:

Once I got downstairs & was right in front of the kitchen, I froze mid-walk to see that the guy in black, who rescued me from that dinosaur or Coor, was still here. He was sitting on one of the leather chairs & he had his arms over each other with one side of his face resting on his arm. He was breathing slowly so he must be asleep. He also wore the same clothes as yesterday.

Why's he still here? If he sneaked in, I swear, I'm going to get a frying pan & make sure he'll be asleep for a _long_ time.

I blinked & debated with myself whether or not I should get some food or I should just go back to the safety of my room. In the end, I decided it was better just to go back. I turned without a sound, heading back upstairs.

"Not hungry?" I heard a musical voice ask.

I jumped a bit & turned stiffly to see he was wide awake & he had his chin propped on his right palm. I shivered a bit when I saw him looking up at me with his fiery eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Not hungry… Sorry, but, what are you still doing here?" I asked, hiding my annoyance.

"I have to guard you." he sighed then turned his back to me as if watching over me was a big pain. The edge of my mouth twitched & if I was an anime, those little veins would be popping up on my head. I took a deep breath & decided to get some food since he was already awake.

I walked, stiffly to the fridge & took the carton of milk. I turned to him & saw he was looking at me too. I froze & I wanted to break my stare but I couldn't. [For some reason…] I was able to breathe again once he broke his gaze.

I blinked & had the feeling of familiarity with him. I wasn't really uncomfortable with him around. It was as if he has been living with us for a long time. I shrugged it off & I gulped down some milk. I put the carton back in the fridge & decided to go back into my room.

I guess I was still half-asleep since I tripped over my own feet & fell on my face.

"ACK! Hey! You okay Anis?" I heard him cry while I lifted my head.

"Yea-"

Right then, I saw him kneeling in front of me with worried & shocked eyes. At the corner of my eye, I saw a scar on his neck which was really visible since it wasn't covered by his shirt's collar. It caught my attention since he had the same scar as Cookie.

Cookie got it when he was almost decapitated by a knife that fell from the table. I admit, I could've killed him since I bumped the knife's handle & I was lucky I hadn't killed my own cat. It was a long time ago & remembering that got me a little depressed. But other than that scar, he had the same eye color as Cookie. Then I saw the silver necklace tied around his neck. It had a blue tear-shaped pendant that had a small crack in the middle.

My eyes widened & it might just be a possibility but I suddenly blurted out-

"Are you my cat?"

He blinked & so did I. it was just weird since he had the same scar, eye color & even the necklace was exactly the same. He saw me staring at the pendant & I heard him mutter something inaudible under his breath.

I looked up at him with wide eyes & he stood up.

"Uh…yeah. I was going to tell you sooner but you had a lot of things happen to you." he said with a low voice. I got up, light headed & gave some distance between us.

"Okay, hold up. All those years of a black, furry cat sleeping with me on the bed & eating Friskies & drinking milk…you mean to say…my cat is actually _you_? A _human_?" I asked with a calm voice. But inside, I was screaming.

To my surprise, he snickered.

"What's so funny?" I hissed with a glare. He looked up at me & again; I was paralyzed by those eyes. He walked up to me & looked down at me since he was really tall.

"I~diot." He said with a long tone & lightly pushed my head. I blinked & I had the mad urge to hit something.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"I just can't believe you didn't notice. Just the other day I gave you a worried look. Didn't you think that was weird?" he asked.

"Yeah. You are weird." I said & he rolled his eyes.

"You're missing the point." He sighed while walking to the fridge, taking out the milk then pouring himself a glass. I stayed silent, trying to tell myself this is all real.

Well, after everything that happened, I shouldn't be surprised that my cat is actually a person.

"Well, forget that question." He said then finished the milk in one gulp & headed out the kitchen while I stood there, paralyzed.

"Oh, by the way." He called, turning to me with a smirk.

"My name isn't Cookie. It's Eric." He smiled then left me with an open mouth.

"What…is this?" I muttered. Right now, my mind is jumbled. I shook my head & took some Taiyaki from the pantry & headed to my room. I was still light headed after finding out my cat isn't a cat.

Well, I can't really say 'my cat' anymore.

I went up to my room & thought of just staring up at the ceiling while the information sinks in.

While I stayed locked in my room, sitting cross-legged on the bed, I stared at the T.V., not watching the show playing & nibbled at the bread fish's head. Suddenly, remembering all the times that I hugged, cuddled & talked to Cookie made me embarrassed.

I almost shrieked with embarrassment when I recalled that I kissed Cookie all the time. I feel a little cheated since I didn't know I was actually kissing another person. And a guy for that matter!

I flinched a bit when the taiyaki dripped cold, chocolate filling onto my lap.

The fish has lost its head & was bleeding.

I quickly finished the pastry & wiped the chocolate off my lap.

"I need to relax." I muttered then glanced at the clock & saw it was only 9 am.

This early & I've learned so many things!

I sighed & played some music while I took a book form the shelf & read, taking my mind off of the situation.

I didn't realize I've read 10 books until I heard a knock on my door. I stood up & opened it to see Eric leaning on the doorway.

"You okay?" he asked with a small smile. I blinked & nodded.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked & he shrugged his shoulders.

"You were just really quiet." He simply said & walked away. I blinked once more & closed my door.

"What was that?" I muttered & walked back to my bed.

Right when I sat on the bed, I heard that song again. My eyes widened & I started to panic. I ran to the door & tried to open it but it was locked.

"What the? ERIC!" I shouted, banging the doors, hoping he would hear. The room suddenly went dark & red suddenly, that balcony doors shook & exploded. I covered myself from the flying glass & looked up to see a woman with long black hair that whipped around like it had a life of its own. She glared at me with glowing red eyes & I shuddered.

Here we go again.

I pressed my back against the door & jumped when someone banged on the door.

"ANIS! What's going on?" Eric yelled with a muffled voice.

"Funtom…" I heard the woman say & I shuddered at her raspy voice.

Suddenly, the woman's hair flew to me with jet speed & wrapped around my neck, choking me.

"Anis? Anis! Talk to me!" Eric yelled. I gripped the long hair & tried to pull it off but it was no use. She was tightening her grip & I could feel the urge to breathe in oxygen.

I hated this. Not being able to do anything, feeling helpless. Anger rose in me & I felt power surge in my veins. The woman looked confused & I growled at her.

"Let go!" I yelled & the air felt cold. Suddenly, ice came out of nowhere, racing to the ghostly woman's hair & exploded. She screeched a horrible scream & fell to the floor, writhing in pain.

I fell to my knees, gasping for air while I made sure to keep away from the woman.

"We _will_ destroy your clan…" she screeched. I froze & grit my teeth.

"Shut up." I hissed & I involuntarily snapped my fingers. Electricity sparked from my finger & snaked towards her. Once it reached her, the room flashed with light & she writhed & screamed.

I heard Eric yell something & my surroundings went back to its normal colors. The woman stopped moving & she slowly dissolved into black powder & after a few seconds, there was a mound of glittering powder on my floor. I blinked & almost fell on my back when the door flew open.

"Anis!" Eric cried with relief & kneeled down in front of me, studying my face.

"Anis, what happened? He asked & I felt so weak that I could only point to the mound of powder in front of us. He turned & once he saw the mound, his eyes widened & he blinked.

"You used your powers?" he asked.

"I think." I muttered. He hung his head & sighed.

"I'm so sorry anis." he apologized without looking at me.

"I'm not hurt." I said with a weak voice. He flinched then turned back to me with worried eyes. He put his hand on my cheek & I felt comforted by his cool hand.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Fine." I simply said. But in truth, I felt like all my energy has been drained from me & I felt so weak that talking took a lot of effort. But I never liked showing weakness.

"Liar." Eric said & put my arm around his neck. He carried me to the bed princess style & I tried to jump off but all I could do was lightly push Eric's chest. He chuckled & held me gingerly. When he was about to put me on the bed he stopped.

"What?" I asked.

"You can't stay here right now. I'll put you in Emily's room." He said & before I could ask why, he walked out my room & went in Auntie Em's room which was right next to mine & put me on the bed. Once I felt the soft blankets, I fell unconscious.


	5. My cat STILL doesn't listen

CHAPTER 5:

"Anis?" I heard a woman's voice call. I groaned & someone stroked my head.

I slowly opened my eyes to see auntie sitting next to me on the bed & looking down at me with worried eyes.

"Auntie. When'd you get back?" I asked & sat up. I guess it was simultaneous since my head throbbed, making my jaw fall.

"Whoa. Stay down & rest. Eric told me everything. It's good you're already awake." She said while she patted my head. I slowly lay back down & sighed.

"How long was I out?"

"2 days." Auntie said with a calm voice. My eyes widened & I was speechless.

"Should I be worried?" I asked making her giggle.

"Nope. That's normal. You used your powers for the first time so; you don't have to worry about the side effects. Just try not to move a lot. It will take a long time for you to recover completely." She explained.

"Is using my powers that taxing?" I asked with my hand on my forehead.

"Well, what did it feel like after you used your powers?" she asked me & I blinked.

"I felt like my head was being boiled in hot water & it was like I've lost all my bones." I quickly said. Auntie snorted & shook her head with a smile.

"Then it's obvious that using your powers is hard. Plus, you haven't even trained yet." She said, getting up. She walked to the door & once she opened it, I saw Tamaki with his fist raised, as if he was going to knock on the door.

"Tamaki." Auntie said with a surprised tone. He smiled at her & they hugged each other. I saw Tamaki was wearing gray faded jeans & a blue button down shirt.

"Is Anis awake yet?" I heard him ask with a gentle & quiet voice.

"Yeah. She just woke up." auntie said & let Tamaki in. He looked at me with a gentle smile & walked up to me then sat on the foot of the bed.

"So, how you feeling?" he asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"My head still hurts a bit but other than that, you don't need to worry." I said & he laughed.

"Who said I was worried? _Stupid_." He said making me flinch with irritation.

"Then what do you want, you _stupid_ president?" I hissed, controlling my anger. He sighed & smiled.

"Your aunt just asked me to purify your room since it has that Kami demon stench." He said.

"What's a Kami demon?" I asked with my brows knit. Tamaki sighed with exasperation.

"A Kami demon is basically a demon with long hair. You should know that." he said & I nodded, ignoring his annoyance.

"Well, anyway, why'd you go and ask if I was awake?" I asked him & he snorted.

"What? You think I was _worried_ for you? I just came to bring you this." He said & pulled out my sling bag.

"My bag!" I said happily while sitting up. He gave it to me & patted my head making me freeze. He suddenly flicked my nose.

"Hey!" I yelped & he chuckled. "Try not to get attacked again." he said & stood up, leaving the room.

"See ya'." He told auntie & I curled my upper lip with annoyance. I opened my bag & took out my mp3. Ah! Thank goodness it was okay!

"Anis." my aunt called. I turned to her & she smiled at me.

"I'll be downstairs okay." she said & I nodded. She shut the door, leaving me with my long awaited bag. I sighed & rummaged through my things & saw a note. Once I saw what was written, I tensed.

"_Funtom, Don't get too comfortable even thow you have your little cat & classmate with you. They won't be able to protect you."_

I stared at the word before the first _you_ & blinked with an expressionless face & sighed. It was spelled as _thow_ instead of _though_.

"Jeez, you're just going to write a threat & you even have wrong spelling? What a joke." I scoffed.

I crumpled the paper & threw it to the trashcan. I stared at the floor, thinking of what I should do. Since my head was feeling slightly better, I decided to go down to the kitchen. I looked out the balcony doors & saw it was really dark.

"It's already night time?" I muttered. I looked at the wall clock & saw it was already 10 pm.

"Right, 2 days of no food. Kitchen..." I mumbled hungrily. I got out of bed & put on my aunts jacket that was lying on the bed then headed downstairs.

I got to the kitchen & saw auntie & Eric sitting at the table across from each other. It looked like they were talking about something important since auntie had such a serious look on her face.

"School huh?" was the last line Eric said until he turned to me.

"You're awake." He said with a gentle smile. My heart fluttered a bit when I saw his dimples.

"Yeah. Any food?" I asked making both of them chuckle. Auntie pointed to the plate of eggs & meatloaf on the table & I walked to them then sat on one of the chairs next to Eric. My aunt handed me her fork & started wolfing down the food.

"Whoa. Slow down kiddo." Auntie laughed but I ignored her. I'm starving.

"Anis, it's Sunday today & you have school tomorrow. Do you have classes?" auntie asked & I shook my head and swallowed.

"The sports fest is until Wednesday." I said & auntie pushed the glass of water to me.

"Well, that's better. Anis, starting tomorrow, you have to start taking your abilities seriously." Auntie said & I nodded.

"What am I gonna do?" I asked making Eric snort. I turned to him with a confused look.

"What?" I asked & he stared at me with eyes full of wonder.

"Nothing." He simply said. I blinked & rolled my eyes then turned back to auntie.

"Anyway, how am I going to take them seriously? I don't even know how to use my powers." I said pointedly.

"That's why Eric's with you." she said, waving her hand to Eric. I stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Auntie, I'm going to _school_ tomorrow. Eric doesn't go in my school." I said & auntie sighed slapping her palm to her face.

"Anis, I'll be your classmate from now on." he said making my eyes widen.

"Huh?" I asked & he raised his brow dismissively.

"I'm your guardian right? I need to keep watch over you." he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, but Tamaki's there too." I said & he flinched a bit.

"Anis, he won't be coming to school anymore. He dropped out." Auntie suddenly said making me freeze.

"Why?" I asked turning to her with a shocked expression. He was the president of the school. What a waste.

"He needs to go back to Fiore. Since Eric's revealed his true form, he doesn't need to stay here anymore. Besides, he really goes to a guild & guilds are equal to school." auntie explained. I thought it was good though.

"Well, I feel bad for his fan girls." I snickered & Eric snorted.

"Tamaki has a girlfriend back in Fiore Anis." Eric revealed & my eyes widened.

"That idiot has a _girlfriend_? Wow. Hard to believe." I said making the two of them laugh.

"Anyway, I won't be here tomorrow either. I'll be in Fiore just to settle some paperwork. I'll be back the next day." auntie said & I tensed. That means I'll be alone with Eric here. Even though he was my cat, it was a little nerve wracking to have a guy stay with you.

"Alright then. I'll be going to bed. Good night kids." Auntie said & kissed my forehead then gave Eric a pet on the head like she would do when he was still a cat. Eric growled with annoyance & auntie and I laughed at him. She walked up to her room & left the two of us alone. Eric then got up & started to walk away.

"Eric, wait! I have a question." I called he turned back to me.

"Hmm?" he asked with a bored look.

"These powers…what are yours?" I blurted out with curiosity. It would be fun to imagine a cat playing with a ball on fire in his paws. He tilted his head to one side & walked to me.

"Well, first, I can control the elements like you, I have these…" he said & my eyes widened to see long outward curved blades come out from both his forearms & they grew over his head. They shined & I saw the sharp tip glitter.

My mouth simply fell making him chuckle.

"Here too." He said & two more blades like the ones on his forearms come out the back of his hands. These were much shorter more like scythes but they still shined.

"Wolverine is that you?" I asked teasingly & he laughed a calming laugh.

"Cool!" I laughed & touched the scythes on the back of his hands. I marveled at them & saw my own reflection.

"Awesome, I wish I could do this too." I said with a wide smile. Honestly, I love these kinds of things. It felt like I was in an action movie or more like a fairy tale.

"Is that all?" I asked, looking up at him with bright eyes. I froze when I saw he was only staring at me with soft eyes. I knit my brows & snapped my fingers.

"hey." I said making him blink. He always was inattentive.

"Oh. You wanna know what else I can do?" he asked & suddenly grinned. He then disappeared & I flinched. Since he didn't reappear after a while, I stood up & started looking around.

"Okay, I get it, you can disappear. Where are you?" I called. Suddenly, something flew past me & I shuddered at the breeze. I froze then Eric appeared in front of me. His face inches from mine.

To my surprise, he lightly kissed my forehead. I was paralyzed & Eric, leaned away.

"Good night. I'm going to bed since I'm really tired now." he yawned, stretching his arms while he walked upstairs. I stood there like an idiot since I had no idea what I was going to do next. My mind simply went blank.

I blinked & suddenly, my face felt hot. I shook my head & slapped the sides of my face.

"Wake up anis!" I hissed to myself & stiffly walked up to my room still dizzy from a small peck on my forehead.

I ran up my room then sped to the bathroom. I took a bath & since it was still a sports day tomorrow, I took out black jogging pants & a plain white shirt for tomorrow. I came out of the shower wearing blue pajamas with pictures of fluffy sheep printed on them. They were my favorite & my mom gave them to me a long time ago since it was really cold here.

I came out the bathroom & yelped to see Eric lying on my bed with his head buried in my pillow. I saw he had a new set of clothes & now he was wearing loose blue pants with a white loose & long sleeved shirt. He looked so relaxed & the edge of my mouth twitched.

I walked up to the bed & hit his shoulder.

"Hey, cat, Get off my bed." I said but he simple moaned & covered himself with the thick blanket. I raised my brow in disbelief & snorted.

"Fine, you asked for it." I said & pushed up my sleeves. With a burst of power, I pushed him off the bed making him fall to the floor with a loud THUD.

"OW! Hey, what was that for?" he yelled in annoyance. I simply smiled & crawling into bed.

"You asked for it. You can't sleep here. This is _my_ bed." I said snuggling into the warm blankets.

"But it's cold down here." he whined & I rolled my eyes.

"So?" I asked, trying to be mean. I know you're saying he was my cat & I let him sleep in the bed all the time, but he wasn't a human being before. I turned the light on my side table off & closed my eyes, urging myself to sleep.


	6. I take on The Mime Business

CHAPTER 6:

It's already 2 am in the morning & I'm still awake. All I could hear was the ticking of the wall clock & the chirping of the crickets outside. The edge of my mouth twitched with irritation.

I'm sure tomorrow; I'll be looking like a ghost.

I sighed deeply & shut my eyes. I turned to the other side & froze to see Eric's sleeping face inches from mine.

My eyes grew wide & my heart seemed to stop. My mouth fell & I bit my lower lip to keep myself from yelping. I shook him but he refused to wake up.

"Eric! Wake up! Get off my bed!" I hissed & he slowly opened his eyes. I blinked my eyes & stared into his slightly glowing amber eyes.

"What? You're so noisy. I can't sleep." He muttered & snuggled up closer to me burying his face into the blanket.

And to my own shock, I involuntarily karate chopped his head. We both froze & he looked up at me with sleepy eyes.

"What…was that for?" he asked with an annoyed look. I blinked & scowled at him then scurried away from him, almost falling off the bed.

"Just, keep your distance." I simply said & turned my back to him. I figured pushing him down would be useless since he'll just come back. He was very persistent when he was a cat anyway. I sighed & when I was about to drift into sleep, I felt something very cold press my feet.

"YAH!" I yelped & turned to see Eric very close…again. My mouth twitched & he suddenly raised his right arm then wrapped it around my stomach. He hugged me so tightly; it was like I was being hugged by a bear.

"Gah! E…ric…can't breathe." I gasped but he only loosened his grip by a little. My mouth twitched & I realized his feet were so cold. I saw him smirk then he put his feet on mine making me twitch.

"Yah! Hey! Your feet are cold!" I yelled.

"See? I was about to freeze to death down there." He simply said & I rolled my eyes. After a while, his grip loosened even more & I grew excited to leave his hold. I tried to slip away but again, his grip tightened. I growled & stayed still grumbling under my breath. My face felt hot when he suddenly snuggled his nose into my hair & sniffed it. I pulled away from him in response.

"Hey, stay here & stop moving." he suddenly said making me freeze.

"I promise I won't do anything weird & I'll let go of you." he assured.

"Maybe." He added making shivers run down my spine. I wanted to say shut up but my voice wouldn't work. I was getting tired. I decided it would be a waste of time & energy if I fought him so, I simply relaxed & instantly, I fell asleep.

"Eric? Wake up or we'll be late." I hissed. Once I opened my eyes, he was still hugging me but this time, my face was on his chest. My face felt hot & it was weird but I felt really comfortable around him.

He wasn't waking up so I thought of giving him a little cold shock. Suddenly, the air between us got really cold & his eyes flew open.

"Wah!" he yelled, jumping off the bed & hitting the wall. I rolled my eyes at him & checked the clock to see it was already 6:10. I tried waking him up at 6 am but he didn't even move one bit.

"You…Anis." he hissed at me. I ignored him & walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

Once I was done, I came out wearing the clothes I readied for today.

"Eric, your…" I was about to tell him to go & get ready but I saw he was already wearing the guys P.E. uniform. Basically, it was the same as the girls but he wore the red jacket we had.

He turned to me & I was amazed about how cool he looked wearing the uniform.

"What? You ready?" he asked me & I blinked.

"Yeah, let's go." I said, taking my sling bag. I took my I.D. and we went out my room, heading down the kitchen. Once we got down, I saw a note on the table from my aunt.

"Be good guys." It simply said. I blinked & put the paper down then walked to the pantry to get an apple. Eric waited for me at the table & I threw him one of the apples.

"Let's go." I said & we left the house, locking it & heading for school.

Once we got there, we were the center of attention but I kept my eyes straight ahead. Other students started murmuring once we passed & I looked around for a place to hang out in. suddenly, I felt the air grow heavy like how I would feel when there's a very scary storm coming.

"Anis." Eric said, gaining my attention. I looked up at him & he was looking around with worried eyes.

"There's something here." he said & I sighed.

"I know. I could feel it too." I replied.

"Come on." he said & he raced off to the library. I stared at him with confusion at first then raced off after him.

We got to the library's front doors & I tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Nope." I shook my head. Eric knit his brow & snapped his fingers. I heard locks click & he pushed the door. _Magically_, it slowly opened. I raised my brow & smacked my lips.

"Right, forgot you can do that." I muttered & walked in while I heard Eric snicker.

The library was really huge & there was a total of 4 floors. Right now, we were at the 2nd floor where Eric said he sensed the aura of an inhuman creature. I stayed behind Eric, looking around carefully.

While we were walking, something sped past me & I turned, pressing my back to Eric.

"What?" he asked, alarmed. I looked around the empty seats but saw nothing.

"It's here but I can't see it." I said. Suddenly, at the corner of my eye, I saw Eric's scythes slide out his arms & he crouched a bit, ready to fight.

"I sense it. Keep your focus & keep on your feet." He warned.

"Got it." I replied & right on cue, something cut my arm, making it bleed.

"Agh!" I yelped & out my hand on the wound. When I was about to ram into Eric, my nose bumped something hard.

"OW!" I yelped. I rubbed my nose & I saw there was some kind of wall in front of me it was some kind of barrier. Eric didn't seem to notice me with my hands on the wall. It shined under the light & I banged on it.

"ERIC!" I yelled but it seemed the stupid wall was soundproof.

I then saw a guy with spiky hair & he had a small & lithe body, like a gymnast. He had pale skin & unlike the other demons I've seen so far, he looked refreshed. He was wearing a green jumpsuit & with that orange hair, he looked comical.

Eric saw him & took his stance. Eric was saying something with a smile & the guy smiled back & raised his right arm, propping it on his left. Eric rolled his eyes & the guy said something with a smile & he disappeared. Eric turned then his eyes grew wide to see me with my fists raised.

He seemed to say something but instead of wasting my voice, I made motions interpreting a wall. After a while, he seemed to get the message & right when he was about to raise his fist, he fell to the ground & I gasped.

The guy appeared in front of me & winked at me. I glared at him & punched the invisible wall.

He jumped back in surprise & looked down at Eric. But we both gasped to see Eric was no longer lying on the ground.

I looked around & saw him hiding behind the bookshelf. The guy in green turned to me & pointed at where Eric was a second ago. I acted dumb & shrugged my shoulders, spreading my hands helplessly.

Eric suddenly appeared behind the guy with a glowing rope in his hands. Before he could tie up the guy, he disappeared again & I growled in annoyance.

"Jeez. Come on Eric! Get him!" I yelled. The two of them were now throwing punches at each other & Eric looked annoyed & suddenly threw a fire ball that unsuccessfully didn't hit the guy but hit the books instead.

"AHH! The books! ERIC!" I roared. I loved books & seeing this was utterly nothing but torture.

Finally, Eric was able to grab hold of the guy's collar. Eric said something with a very annoyed expression to my surprise & panic, the guy smirked & said something then patted Eric's cheek.

He's going to be dead meat. With Eric's current expression, I would say he would roast this guy.

But, disappointingly, Eric's mouth only twitched & he sighed then let go of the guy.

"EH! Eric! What on earth are you doing?" I yelled.

The guy put his arm over Eric's shoulder & the guy raised his hand. Suddenly, the wall disappeared. I froze with my fists in the air & the guy in green snickered.

"It's really funny to see a Funtom looking like a mime." He said with an Australian accent. I blinked & stared at them with a blank expression. I suddenly remembered what Eric told me.

"ERIC! You're being influenced by this guy aren't you? Wake up!" I yelled. They both stared at me & the guy in green burst into laughter while Eric smiled a bit.

"Anis, relax. This guy's one of us. He's a member of Diamondheart. Plus, with his idiocy, it's impossible for him to be able to do mind tricks." Eric explained with a smile. I blinked & I cautiously walked up to Eric. He looked down at me with amused eyes.

"I told you, I'm not being influenced." He assured.

"Prove it." I said & he suddenly kissed my forehead making me freeze.

"There. Believe me now? Or should I kiss you on the cheek next?" he asked with a teasing tone. My face felt hot & I jumped back.

"I believe you idiot!" I shouted making him chuckle.

"Anyway? Who are you?" I asked & the guy in green stopped laughing & sighed.

"Oh, right. It's nice to meet you Miss Anis." he greeted with a crooked smile & took out his hand, wanting to shake hands with me.

"My name is Jack Ace." He said with a smirk.


	7. An AMATEUR Beats Down A Demon

CHAPTER 7:

I blinked at both of them with confusion, wondering if this was only a mind trick.

"Confused?" green guy- I mean Jack chuckled.

"Yes. Very. Can you just explain to me how you guys know each other?" I asked.

"I was Eric's teammate before he left for this world. To protect you." he said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. I stared at him & then at Eric. It seemed like he was telling the truth.

"Teammate?" I asked. Slowly the new info was sinking into, my now deflated brain.

"Yeah. We were the top team of Mages before Eric left but now…ah, we've bitten the dust." Jack sighed, sitting on one of the tables.

"Ah, don't tell me Rouge & Cornelius got you _again_?" Eric sighed with annoyance while he leaned on the _last_ unburned book shelf.

"Hey! Don't blame me! Those two are really strong! And, Skylar let them win!" Jack roared angrily. Eric slowly inched back with a nervous smile.

"Alright, alright. Relax. Anyway, I'm sure that's not the only thing you came here for." Eric said with a now serious face.

"Ah yea. Your mum is telling you to guard the school for a while Anis." Jack said with a bored look. I blinked at him & froze in place.

"wha? Guard _the school_?" I asked with a shocked tone.

I can't possibly do that.

Heck, I can't even last a minute in a fight with Mr. Green jumpsuit here. what makes mom think I can stand protecting the _entire_ student body?

"Yea. Why?... Scared of some strong people?" Jack taunted with a crooked smile. I glared at him & looked down at the ground.

"Yeah. I'm scared. So what? I'm only human." I snapped. Suddenly, I heard him chuckle. I looked up at him with a blank face.

"Relax girl. Even though it's fun to tease you, you're still once of DiamondHeart's trump cards." he smiled.

"Huh? Why are you _praising_ me? You're weird." I simply said making him laugh.

"Hahaha! Well, I fully support you kiddo. Since you're the Master's daughter, you're already one of Diamondheart." He said while standing up.

"Where you going now?" Eric asked. Jack ignored him & headed to the window then opening it.

"Well, now that I've _annoyed_ you & completed my mission, it's time for me to go home & collect my reward money." He grinned widely then turned to the window.

"Oh. One last thing." He said then turned to me. He flicked the air with his finger & I didn't see anything but something hit my forehead really hard; it even made me fall to the floor.

"Jack!" Eric yelled angrily while he helped me up.

"Hahaha! It looks like the little phantom needs lots of practice. G'luck mate." Jack chuckled. I growled deeply & jumped to my feet then charged him.

"Whoa! see ya!" jack laughed & jumped out the window.

"Grrr! I'll get you back you little _clown_!" I yelled out of the blue. I didn't know what other name to call him so, since he was called Jack & Ace was his last name, I should just call him Joker.

Once I looked down, he vanished into thin air. I heard Eric chuckle & I turned to him with an annoyed expression.

"Shut up." I hissed making him laugh. He then walked to the stairs.

"Haha, come on. Let's get to class." he said making me freeze & stare at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Eric, it's the sports fest. There are no classes." I said & he blinked at me then once he noticed his mistake, he chuckled with embarrassment.

"Oh, right. Slipped my mind." He chuckled then turned back to the stairs. I giggled a bit then ran after him. Right when I was about to take the first step down, I remembered the burned bookshelves.

My eyes widened & I lost my balance. "Ack!" I yelped then tried to step on the third flight of stairs but I failed.

I tumbled over my left foot then flew down the stairs & thankfully, I was able to jump on the floor before hitting the ground with my face & simply tackled the hard wall with a loud THUD!

Eric turned to me, alarmed & chuckled when he saw me hugging the wall.

"What is this?" he chuckled walking to me with a huge smile that showed perfect white teeth.

"The books you dummy. You're not gonna fix it?" I asked. He looked up the stairs & cocked up his head.

"Oh right. Sorry." He chuckled. He snapped his fingers & I then heard something like sand. I ran up the stairs & my mouth fell to see the burned shelves turn into brown, polished shelves, like they were newly bought. Like a line of dominoes, each shelf along with the books glowed faintly & the black burns slowly disappeared.

And after a minute, the 2nd floor was really clean. The floor was shiny & all traces of a fire were gone.

"Wow." Was all I could get out my mouth.

"Happy?" I heard Eric ask from behind me & I nodded slowly. My eyes brightened at the idea that popped into my head.

"Hey! Can you clean my room one we get back?" I asked with a huge smile. He looked down at me with a smile then he unexpectedly karate chopped my head.

"Ow! Hey…" I whined. He turned away from me, looking annoyed.

"What do you think of me? A butler? _Dummy_." He grumbled while he stomped down the stairs. I blinked & snickered.

"Ah well." I muttered then this time, walked down the stairs, following Eric.

We were leisurely walking down the stone path that led to the gym when Eric's phone rang, making me jump. He fished it out his pocket & looked at the screen.

"Hmm? It's Jack." He said & I suddenly felt really irritated.

"Yeah Jack?...what…slow down! Wait up, you mean to tell me that guy is…." Eric trailed off. I looked away from him & leaned on one of the trees.

I froze when I saw Eric's horror-struck expression. His fist was shaking & he was turning pale.

"Hey, Eric. What's up?" I asked, starting to get worried. I walked up to him & suddenly, a huge shadow loomed over me. At first it was small but then it got bigger & bigger.

"ANIS!" Eric yelled & jumped to me. The ground shook violently Eric held me protectively & we fell to the ground. I looked up at him & saw his pained face.

"Eric! Are you okay?" I asked, panicking.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He groaned & sat up. Once I sat up along with him, my eyes widened to see some kind of monster.

I didn't understand what it was but it was really huge & it had a man's body that made him look like he was hitting the gym all his life. He had flowing orange hair & he radiated a menacing aura.

Once he turned, I was paralyzed with fear.

He had long curved fangs & eyes with yellow, dilated pupils. Behind his pupils were all black. It looked like he was wearing a Halloween mask but, even though I was never one to be frightened of masks, this guy somehow made me feel so weak & puny.

I realized the ground he was standing on had crumbled & the dust swirled around us.

"You. Kurohime." Eric growled deeply.

The monster suddenly chuckled darkly. But his laugh sounded so evil.

"Yes. I've found the Funtom & the prodigal Mage-Eric Wolfe." The monster rumbled with such a deep voice, it made my teeth buzz.

"What are you doing here? You know the demons that come here all die…since I'm here." Eric said growled with a low & powerful voice making shivers run down my spine.

"GUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You? I'll make you so, you won't be able to talk big anymore!" the demon yelled while raising his fist.

My eyes widened & suddenly, my arms flew up into an X and suddenly, a glowing blue circle burned in the air. Once the demons fist landed on the circle, the air around him exploded.

"GUAAAAAA!" he yelled in pain & since we were surrounded by thick dust, I only heard a loud BOOM! Like a bomb falling down on us.

"Anis…you…you used your powers." Eric muttered with amazement. I blinked with a partially open mouth.

"What'd you do?" Eric asked me. I turned to him with a very confused look.

"I have no clue." I muttered making him stare at me with a dumbfounded expression.

We both stood up & Eric whipped his right arm. Suddenly, a very strong current of wind came, making the dust disappear.

The demon lay on the ground, unmoving. When I thought he was dead, we heard a rumbling noise. Like a truck's engine revving.

"AHAHAHA!" the demon laughed & before I could react he simply whipped me with his muscular arm making me fly back with wide eyes. I then hit something really hard with my back. I gasped & blood came out my mouth. I fell to the ground, gasping for air all the while coughing up blood.

"ANIS!" Eric yelled. I tried to get up but it was useless. It felt like all the air form my lungs were pulled out & my ribs felt like they've cracked.

I looked up, gritting my teeth & saw Eric was already fighting the demon. He flew everywhere & balls of fire & ice flew around the place. I then caught a glance of Eric's face & saw he looked extremely mad.

"YOU!" Eric yelled & punched the demons face. My eyes widened when the demon flew back, hitting a whole column of trees.

I knew Eric was strong but this strength is just utterly ridiculous.

"Anis…." Eric panted & walked weakly to me. I pushed the ground with my hands, trying to get up & it frustrated me when it was still no use.

"Stop it. It's okay." he said. I looked up at him with frustration & saw he was looking at me with such a pained look. For some reason, seeing that expression on his face made the tears come. But fortunately, I was really good with holding back tears.

"I'm sorry. I let you get hurt again." he muttered.

"Idiot. I'm not dead am I? I'm fine so, you don't have to be so emotional." I said with a gentle smile. He blinked & smiled a bit. Right when I thought everything was over, something huge hit Eric making fly back & hit the giant tree. He hit it so hard; I heard a creaking noise & the top of the tree started to sway.

My eyes widened & I struggled to get up. "ERIC! WATCH OUT!" I yelled. But before he could get out of the way, the top half of the tree fell on him.

The ground shook & I felt my heart sink.

"HAHAHAHA! It looks like the legendary Wolfe isn't that much of a legend after all! And, apart from, you Funtom are an absolute weakling. It's pretty laughable to hear your father is the master of one of the most powerful guilds! It's sound like a joke! BWAHAHAHA!" the demon roared with laughter.

I clenched my fist & I felt anger rise in me.

"Shut up. You stupid _thing._" I growled.

"Ohhh, still fighting eh? Very well." the demon said. Suddenly, he grabbed me & I was encased in his fist.

"Augh.." I groaned since he was squeezing me tightly, making the air escape my lungs.

"Don't have the strength little girl? Just as I expected from a child who comes from such _weak_ parents." He laughed. I flinched & the anger rose in me.

I felt a mad urge to kill & my blood was boiling.

"I said…_Shut up_." I growled once more & glowered at him. I clenched my fist & I felt it heat up.

"Huh?! What the?!" he roared.

"Put me down." I ordered & the air got colder. "Disappear." I muttered & suddenly, a web of cracks popped up on his face.

"Wha?! What did you do to me?!" he yelled & let me go. When I thought I'd fall again, something caught me. I looked up to see Eric panting.

"Eric! You're okay." I said, a relieved smile growing on my face.

"Ah, yeah…what'd you do?" he asked while he let me sit on the ground & we both looked up at the demon that was now shaking with pain.

"AAAUGGGHH!" he roared. The cracks snaked across his entire body & once the cracks reached his left chest, he disintegrated.

"NOOOOOO!" he roared & like all the demons, he exploded, making black powder float down.

"You, you did it…_again_." Eric said with a sigh. The edge of my mouth twitched.

"Wh-why do you look dissatisfied?"I asked with disbelief. He sighed & shook his head.

"It looks like I'm falling behind such an _amateur_." He sighed with exasperation. (He called me amateur…)

I flinched a bit & sighed and then it occurred to me. I'm not fainting.

"Well, it looks like you've gotten stronger." Eric smiled. I blinked at him & he patted my head. I froze & my heart felt like it was being strangled.

"Umm, great?" I muttered with embarrassment.

"But, Kurohime, wonder what he was doing here. These demons just seem to keep popping up everywhere." Eric sighed.

Eric then turned his back to me, crouching. I blinked at him with confusion.

He turned to me with the same look. "What're you doing? Hop on." he ordered.

I twitched & looked away. "I can walk fine. Thanks." I said & once I tried to stand, my knees buckled & I fell back on the ground.

He raised his brow at me. "Right. It's the first time for me to see someone walking on their back." Eric said teasingly.

"Shut up you…" I hissed & he chuckled. He grabbed my wrist & threw me on his back. He shot up his feet & tightly held both my wrists.

"You have no choice. Let's go." He said & started walking with me on his back.


	8. Cookie Just LOVES Kisses

CHAPTER 8:

I was really thankful that all the other students are at the gym watching the basketball game. I might just die of embarrassment of they saw me like this.

"Eric? Where on earth are we going?" I asked as we walked to random places.

"I…um, I need to tell you something really important." He said.

"Hmm? What is it tell me then." I sighed. His breath stopped & we headed out to the gates of the school.

"We going home?" I asked.

"Anis, you need to drop out of this school." he suddenly said & I froze.

"Huh?" I muttered, unable to say anything else.

"I know you have friends here Anis but…after Kurohime appeared, it's a sign we have to leave this world." he said without looking back at me.

"What do you mean? Didn't mom ask to watch over the school?" I asked. Although I keep asking this, I already knew this was bound to happen.

"Yeah. But all that changed once a strong demon arrived. My top priority is to protect you all the while keeping a low profile. We need to tell this to Emily…and leave." he said with a small voice.

My heart suddenly sunk & the word leave echoed in my head along with the image of me & my friends laughing together appearing. I fell silent, not knowing how to reply.

"Anis?...you okay?" he asked with a small voice.

"Mmm…I'm just thinking about it." I admitted & rest my chin on his shoulder.

To be honest, I'm getting a little…frustrated by all this. But I won't let it get to me. Feeling something like this…makes me think like I'm turning selfish.

"If…I leave, will all my friends & schoolmates be okay?" I asked & glanced down at Eric. He wasn't replying. Maybe he's still thinking about it.

If the reason these demons just start appearing, then, I'll forget about my happiness…and protect my friends. We walked to the gates & stopped a few feet.

"Maybe. I think the reason for these demons is because of the two of us." Eric said. I was a little embarrassed when he said "Us."

"Why?" I asked, looking up at the clouds & trying to think well.

"Kurohime was after _us_, and only _us_. That's why I was shaken when Jack said Kurohime had left the magic world. If we stay here longer, it'll cause great trouble for the mortals if even more demons start appearing." Eric said. I blinked & took a deep breath.

"Okay…when do we leave then?" I asked making Eric's head cock up a little.

"You're not…" he trailed off & turned to me with shocked eyes. I stared at him with a blank expression.

"What? If these people get hurt because of me, I'd rather leave then see anyone important to me get hurt." I said straight out. Eric stared at me with a struck expression & smiled a bit.

"Humph. Well, if you're ready, once Aunt Emily gets back, we can all leave together." He said.

"Mmm. 'Kay." I said like it wasn't big deal to leave the world I've lived in for my entire life.

Eric suddenly crouched down & in one jump; we were at the other side of the gates. He walked leisurely down the road heading home.

"Eric? What's it like in Fiore?" I asked while we walked home. He was walking slowly so, it might take some time to get home. But, I don't mind either way.

"Hmm…Fiore, well, I think even if you hated it there when you were a baby, I think you'll love it there. The place is really refreshing & unlike this world, you won't inhale any smoke. Just fresh air…plus, the people there are really nice." He said & glancing down at him, it looked like his cheeks were raised as if he was smiling.

"Really?...what about this so called Guild? What is it anyway?" I asked with curiosity. I have no clue why but I really hate the feeling of not knowing anything about the place I'm going to. As long as I hear something good about it, then I'll wanna go.

"Guilds are places where people who have similar goals gather. We all do missions there & help the people who can't do magic. DiamondHeart's a really popular guild by the way." Eric bragged making me smile.

"Really? Why so?" I giggled. Somehow it gave me an image of a fuzzy & warm place filled with really nice people.

"Our guild's popular because we're feared across all of Fiore." He quickly said with an evil laugh. I flinched a bit at him.

For some reason, I'm getting nervous.

"What…don't tell me we're some kind of evil guild?" I muttered.

"Of course not! I just mean that all our guild members are really powerful. And those who dare attack us will certainly umm, land on the hospital bed." Eric chuckled. I stared down at him with a dumbfounded expression.

This guy…I never knew my cat had a dark side…

"Oh, where is our guild found?" I asked. Surely Fiore is only the name of the world.

"Ah, DiamondHeart's found in Albion city. It's a very nice place and….well, bottom line is, you'll like it there." He said & suddenly, I felt my heart bounce.

Out of nowhere, I giggled like a little girl. "Hmm? Are you _that_ happy?" he asked.

"Just, wondering. It's fun to create the image in my head." I smiled.

Eric chuckled & something came across my mind.

"Eric, how old are you?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh, 16. Why?" he asked, puzzled.

"Oh. Nothing." I muttered. I didn't ask for any reason really. It just came to me that even though he's been living with me (as a cat) for such a long time, I know nothing about him.

Suddenly, remembering all those times I would sing & dance in my room like I was a real singer made me feel so embarrassed. I dug my chin into Eric's shoulder, resisting the urge to scream my head off. I only realized but…Eric smelled like cinnamon…or something even better, and I was immediately addicted to it.

Suddenly, after a while of silence, Eric snickered.

"What? Embarrassed of all those times you sang to me with all your heart?" he asked. My eyes widened & bit my lower lip. Without meaning it, I banged Eric's head with my fists, like his head was a drum.

"HEY!" Eric yelled, suddenly going off his walking path.

Okay, maybe I did mean to do that to him.

"GAAAAA! Shut up you dummy! Don't remind me idiot!" I yelled, still banging on his head.

Suddenly, he grabbed my right hand & to my shock, he pressed my palm to his lips. I froze & my face felt like it was put it an oven. He was silent for a bit & kept on pressing his lips to my palm making me feel weak.

"Hmm…no matter how embarrassed you are, I'm always really happy when you sing to me those songs….you have an _absolutely_ lovely voice Anis." he said then sniffed my hand & kissed it.

Honestly, why do guys have to do that? Right in public, they do something that could make you faint.

I tried to lean away from his back since my heart was beating so loudly. I'm already really embarrassed, no need to worsen my humiliation.

"Shut up." I managed to say making him chuckle. He took my left arm then pulled me to him.

"Don't lean back or you'll fall. Plus…" he trailed off then turned his glance to me.

"I don't like not feeling you near me." he said with intense but soft eyes that glinted with mischievousness. I bit my lip & looked away from him.

"Mmm." Was all I could say. He chuckled & then kissed my right palm.

The edge of my mouth twitched & I utterly felt inferior to this cat. Aren't I supposed to be the dominant figure here?

After a few minutes of walking with my hand being kissed by this cat, we finally reached home & once he put me down, I fell like to the floor like a ragdoll.

All those things Eric was doing made me feel dizzy & it made my bones turn into butter. As long as he doesn't come anywhere near my ears then I'll manage to live.

"Uh…Anis, what're you doing?" Eric asked, wondering why I was pressing my cheeks to the cool marble floor.

"Nothing…it's cold down here." I replied. Yeah, I need to cool down you idiot thanks to all that hand kissing.

I heard him sigh & suddenly, I was in his arms again.

"Wah! Hey! What're you doing?!" I yelped feeling even more embarrassed that he was holding me in a princess carry.

"What else? Taking you to your room of course. You're tired right? Don't sleep on the floor." he said & I blinked. After that, since I had no power to talk anymore, I just stared down at the ground as we walked up the stairs.

He put me on my bed & I sat up.

"Eric, Auntie's coming back tomorrow right?" I asked while staring down at my 3DS.

"Hmm? Yeah. Don't know what time but she'll come back tomorrow." Eric said.

I nodded once & hugged my knees.

"Can I tell my friends tomorrow? About all this? I'm sure they won't tell anyone…I just…I can't just tell them I'll be leaving so suddenly without an explanation." I said, not looking at him.

I felt him put his hand on my head. "Of course." He agreed & hid my face. I don't want to cry yet but, I just don't know what expression to give out.

"What time is it?" I asked, just to break the silence.

"It's 12:46. Wanna have lunch?" he asked with a more gentle voice. I shook my head & he sighed. I felt the bed get lighter & I heard the click of the door.

I slowly raised my head & the first thing I see is the picture frame resting on the table beneath the TV. In that frame was a picture of me, Iyumi, Akira & Hikaru having fun in the amusement park.

I grit my teeth & remembered that we rode the Viking that day & Hikaru just couldn't take it & screamed his head off. After that, we had fun making Hikaru buy things for us in the mall.

All those days of being with my friends will no longer come again.

"Ah…whatever." I muttered & fell back on my pillows. I groaned & decided to just listen to some music and simply sleep.

The dream world is better than reality anyway.

My eyes suddenly opened & I blinked. I was facing the balcony so I saw the sun was already setting

"Did I really sleep that long?" I muttered & sat up, stretching my neck. I glanced at the clock & frowned to see that it was already 5:30 pm.

"You really take a long time to sleep. Hope you can still sleep later." I heard Eric say. I turned & saw Eric leaning on my doorway looking at me with that smirk.

"Ha. Well, my talents do consist of sleeping." I joked making him chuckle.

"Anyway, come out. Let's train." Eric said with a mischievous expression. He then turned away & I blinked.

"Alright." I chuckled excitedly.


	9. Run Like The Wind! Yells Mr Cat

CHAPTER 9:

Eric was standing in the garden behind the mansion & he was staring up at the sky.

"Okay, so, what're we going to do?" I asked while walking to him. He turned to me with a grin.

"We'll be practicing your control over the elements first." He said, walking over to the giant sakura tree to my left.

"Hold on…how? I don't even _know_ how to summon these powers." I said.

"Simply think of yourself using it. Take water. Think of it & you'll be able to summon It." he said & leaned on the tree.

I blinked at him with confusion. "That's it? No more focus or something?" I asked & he shrugged his shoulders.

"Nope. You're a natural elementalist. Your family has the history of using the elements so it will be really easy for you. Your father just told me to be calm & relaxed then, I was able to use the elements." He explained.

I knit my brow at him, still not getting it. He sighed & walked to me.

"Okay, let me put it in a simpler way. Relax & hold out your hand." He said & folded his arms while staring at me.

I blinked with confusion & slowly raised my right hand, my palm facing the cement wall.

"Now, think of water. Even just the word will do, or even just say it out loud." He said & I blinked.

"Uh, Water." I said.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a jet of water sped out from the air.

It seemed the pressure was so high, the water went straight through the cement wall, leaving a hug gaping hole in front of me.

My jaw fell & I slowly turned my head to Eric & saw he was wide eyed.

"Umm…like that?" I asked sheepishly. He blinked at me then shook his head with a smile.

"Yeah. Good job. Now we know we have to practice control." He said.

Once we started, there was no stopping. He made me run around the entire backyard (which was huge) and today, I realized that I shouldn't have agreed with auntie about putting a mini forest along with the backyard.

As for my training, I had to run around, non-stop & once I'm done with 2 laps, I would have to try & use my powers and make sure I'm able to control the flow of power. It was a good thing a changed into jogging pants, a loose shirt & tied my hair before all this.

After hours of running & throwing balls of either fire, water, ice or other more elements, finally, Eric let me stop for a while.

"GAAAHH!" I yelled up into the air.

"Had enough?" Eric chuckled. I glared at him & panted.

"No…way." I wheezed. He rolled his eyes & I sat under the sakura tree, watching the cherry blossoms fall on my head.

"So, you're already able to control fire, water, earth, ice & lightning. The only one left is air." he said with a serious look.

"Alright then. Let's get this over with." I said & stood up.

"Can you still take it?" he asked with a raised brow.

Actually, Eric was running along with me, monitoring my speed but unlike me, his shirt wasn't soaked in sweat & he didn't look like he ran through a forest. Plus, he was so relaxed.

"If _you_ got through all this, then I sure can too." I said & walked past him, heading to the clear space in the garden.

"Okay…now. Air is the hardest element to control & unlike the other elements, you have to really focus on air & if you don't have control over it in the first try, you could end up hurting even yourself. And, this element is only to be used in extreme situations." Eric explained.

I nodded & gulped.

"Wait!" Eric yelled as I raised my hand. He walked in front of me & snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, some kind of mannequin appeared, but unlike the normal ones, this one was made of what looked like steel. He walked back to me then stood beside me.

"So, what, you want me to make this fly away?" I scoffed.

"Nope. I want you to destroy it. Or simply, rip it apart." He replied nonchalantly.

My eyes widened & I was speechless.

"Huh?..I…how?" I asked.

"First. Close your eyes & clear your mind." He ordered. I sighed & did as he told.

To be honest, it was a little hard to do since things still keep popping in my head like 'what's that sound?' or 'how do I do this?'

"Now, hold out your hand." He said & I slowly raised my hand in front of me. I just hope Eric's smart enough to get out of the way.

"Now, relax & feel the air around you." he said & I took deep breaths. When I thought of focusing on the air around me, it actually worked. I felt one with the wind & I felt a little lighter, like I was only a feather.

"Okay. Now here's the tricky part. Think of destroying this doll." He said.

I took a breath & I opened my eyes and once I saw the steel doll, I imagined it getting ripped to pieces.

At first nothing was happening but then I imagined my dad doing the same thing I'm doing, I felt my competitiveness rise.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, making my hair whip around my face.

"You're getting it Anis!" I heard Eric yell through the whistling wind. I kept my hand up & I struggled to control the wind.

Eric's right. This is hard.

But after a while, I was able to control it better. I turned up my palm & a small vortex of wind materialized in my hand. I felt its power & I whipped my arm, sending the vortex flying to the doll.

My eyes widened as it grew bigger & enveloped the doll. I was hoping that would be enough but it only scratched the doll a bit so I willed it to turn faster & I saw the vortex pick up speed & this time, I could hear the wind howl.

To my surprise, the doll levitated a bit & in a heartbeat, the doll was slowly being ripped apart until only the head was left.

I realized the head was a lot heavier & I growled. I raised my hand & the wind whipped around the steel head.

I then decided it was time to stop playing around & closed my fist.

And, to my satisfaction, the mannequin's head exploded into a million bits of scrap metal. Before the bits could fall on me & possibly stab me with their sharp points, I waved my hand over my head & the bits flew to the right, falling to the ground.

I blinked & heard Eric clap his hands. I turned to him & smiled. Once I took a step towards him, I felt my knees buckle & I fell to the ground.

"Whoa!" Eric yelled & caught me before I could fall on my face.

It was amazing that I suddenly felt exhausted.

"Wow…I'm…really tired." I laughed weakly. Eric chuckled & patted my head.

"Can you stand?" he asked & I pushed the ground with my palms & when I moved my legs, I felt like my legs were being squeezed & twisted like a wet towel.

"Yeah, I…nope." I said with a tinge of annoyance. Eric chuckled again & scooped me up while he walked into the house.

I really have to start running more often so that Eric doesn't have to carry me around every time I train myself.

"Hey, how long do I have to train like this?" I groaned.

"You have to train _everyday_ if you don't want to get killed." Eric chuckled.

"Wait…_killed_?" I asked with wide eyes & he nodded.

"Yep. Killed." He replied nonchalantly. I blinked & rolled my eyes.

"But, I'm impressed. It took you only a day to get how to use your powers." He praised.

"Well, how long did _you_ train?" I asked, looking up at him through my lashes.

He looked down at me with a raised brow then looked away.

"Hey, you're not gonna tell me?" I asked & he smiled a bit.

"I don't wanna. You might get arrogant & boss me around." he smiled & rubbed his forehead to mine.

My chest tightened & I felt dizzy. "What…what're you doing?" I asked with a small voice since his cinnamon scent made me a little hyper.

"I like doing this." He simply said, continuing his forehead rubbing. I tried to pull my head away many times but it was useless since I almost fell most of the time.

"Jeez, already a human yet you're still a cat." I muttered making him chuckle.

He put me on the sofa & headed to the kitchen.

"By the way, how are you going to tell your friends about your powers?" he called. I took my rubber shoes off & put my feet up the sofa.

"Hmm, dunno. Guess I'll figure it out somehow." I said & Eric came back with a glass of water in his hands.

"Really? Good luck." He smiled as he handed me the drink.

"Well, it won't be hard to tell them. They're my best friends & no matter how crazy things sound, they'll believe me." I said with confidence.

It was true anyway. When we tell each other things, we always believe each other.

"You're lucky to have friends like them." he said & jumped on the sofa, putting my legs on his lap.

"yeah." I smiled.

I didn't realize I was staring at the water until Eric tapped my forehead.

"Huh?...why do you keep doing that?" I asked, a little annoyed. He grinned & shrugged his shoulders.

"I dunno. It's just fun." He smiled & I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly, the front doors burst open making me jump a bit & my aunt came running in wearing jeans & a green blouse and she had her bag hanging on her shoulder.

"Hello! I'm back! So, what happened today?" she asked while walking to us.

"Anis can control her powers now." Eric smiled & I smiled too.

"Really? Amazing! It looks like girls _do_ mature faster than boys." Auntie giggled.

"What do you mean by that?" I smiled slyly. I get the feeling I'll be finding out something someone doesn't want me to know.

"Oh, Eric took weeks to control his powers unlike you." Auntie said dismissively while walking to the kitchen. I raised my brows in disbelief & turned to Eric who had his face in his hands.

"Darn that woman." He growled making me snicker.

"Well, enough of that, what about school?" auntie called & I froze.

"Umm…well…" I muttered, scratching the back of my head.

"Kurohime attacked us." Eric said, beating me to it. Suddenly I heard a loud crack from the kitchen.

I jumped up & auntie stomped to us with a very astonished expression.

"What?! I thought I told those guards to monitor his whereabouts." She hissed angrily.

"No one got hurt. Anis beat him down anyway." Eric smiled & winked at me.

I glanced at auntie & saw her with wide eyes.

"You beat Kurohime?...really. Even though you're my niece…amazing." She praised with an adoring look and I smiled with embarrassment.

"Haha, he had it coming." I said. Auntie smiled adoringly at me & sighed.

"Well, now that _he_ appeared, Eric…" auntie trialed off looking at Eric. He nodded once.

"Yeah. We need to leave." Eric said & I can't help but feel a little guilty.

"Anis…I'm so sorry darling." Auntie apologized & sat down next to me while caressing my face.

"It's fine. As long as everyone will be okay then I'll do anything." I said with a smile.

Auntie looked down & I saw the hint of guilt in her eyes.

"When do we leave?" I asked. At least I could show I'm excited.

"We should leave at dawn. There's no telling what more could happen." Eric said & auntie nodded.

"He's right. Is that okay with you anis?" auntie asked & I nodded.

She gave me a concerned look & sighed then stood up.

"Okay then. But I promise anis, we'll come back here." she promised & I smiled.

"Yeah." I replied. She smiled a bit & stretched her arms.

"So, enough with all this drama. What do you kids wanna eat?" she called while going up to her room.

This talk of food got me all hyped up. "I vote fried chicken!" I yelled while running up the stairs.

"Pizza!" Eric yelled.

"Both!" I yelled again making Eric laugh. Auntie sighed while shaking her head.

"No, it's either pizza or chicken." Auntie said & I turned to Eric.

"Chicken." I said with a straight face.

"No. pizza." He argued & we both raised our brow.

We stared at each other & my heart stopped as I stared into those fiery red eyes that showed softness & gentleness. I grit my teeth then sighed.

"Ah, fine pizza it is. _But_! We order All Cheese pizza!" I pointed.

"Deal." Eric said & we shook hands as a deal.

Auntie rolled her eyes with a smile & took out her hand phone then threw it to Eric.

"Call the pizza then. I'll be taking a bath." she said & headed to her room.

I sniffed myself & I cringed.

"Hey, I'm gonnna take a bath too. Dare come in my room & I'll kill you." I said & Eric chuckled. I ran up to my room to take a long bath.


	10. Name Calling & Laughing our Heads Off

CHAPTER 10:

I got back down wearing my sleeping clothes: loose jogging pants & a white long sleeved shirt, along with a jacket. Once I got to the kitchen, I saw the pizza was already here & Eric was pouring some Coke into glasses while auntie was slicing the pizza.

I half ran to them & stopped right at the edge of the table. I sniffed the scent of mozzarella cheese & almost melted at the heavenly scent.

I took my seat next to Eric & the three of us ate happily together while talking about unimportant things.

Once we were done, I ordered auntie to her room since she looks so tired & I was left alone with Eric.

He stretched his arms & started up the stairs while I headed to the backyard.

"Hey, where you going?" he called. I looked up at him & he was looking down at me with confused eyes.

"Ah, I just wanna go out for a while, just to see the stars." I said with a smile.

"Why not look at them from the balcony?" he asked with a puzzled tone.

"Just not the same without the grass." I shrugged. He blinked & nodded.

"Okay then. I'm going to sleep." He said with a yawn. He must've gotten tired from all that training.

Once I heard my door close, I went out to the garden & looked up at the sky to see tons of stars. I walked to the middle & lay on the soft grass, staring up at the awesome scenery.

I sighed & started thinking about my friends & imagined different scenarios on how I would tell them about all these things about magic and all that.

I stayed there until something fell on my face. I jumped a bit & sat up, alarmed. I looked around to see a balled up paper. I grabbed it then opened it.

"Hey, it's time to sleep."

It simply said. I blinked & sighed.

"Right." I muttered & headed back into the house.

I got to my room to see Eric wasn't in my room. I blinked & looked around for him.

"Eric?" I called.

"Yeah?" I heard someone reply. I froze and, wide eyed, I looked around trying to find Eric's voice.

"Where the heck are you?" I called.

"Go out your balcony." I heard his voice order. I did & looked around then jumped to see that, on my left, Eric was standing on the other room's balcony.

"I thought you were here?" I asked with confusion.

He rest his arm on the metal railing & propped his chin on his other palm.

"Yeah, your aunt saw me come in & pulled me right out. She said I'll be sleeping in this room & I'm not allowed to go in there anymore." He pouted making me snort.

"Well, at least I'll have the room all to myself now." I smiled & he sighed.

"And here I thought you'll be sad that I'm gone." He sighed making me snort again.

"As if…" I said & turned back into my room.

"Anis." Eric called.

"Huh?" I asked, turning to him with a raised brow.

"Good night." He simply said & my heart stopped when I saw his pained expression. I blinked & cleared my throat since I was staring at him like a total moron.

"Uhm, yeah…G-good night." I stuttered & he gave me a gentle smile that made his eyes glitter.

Before I start staring at him again, I hurried into my room & shut the balcony doors.

I blinked & shook my head. I headed into my bathroom & took a long bath then changed into my usual sleeping clothes-black pajamas & a loose white shirt.

I jumped into bed & saw it was only 9 pm. I'm not yet sleepy so I decided to play Tekken & beat down my opponent. But, through the entire game, I couldn't focus at all & kept on losing.

I just couldn't stop thinking about Eric's face. Those Fiery, slightly glowing red eyes & his gorgeous face pouting at me. I felt my chest tighten then I blinked & yelped when the computer beat me again.

The edge of my mouth twitched & I sighed, scratching the back of my head.

"Stupid cat." I muttered, my face feeling hot. Since I still lost the fights, I figured to stop playing & try to sleep instead.

I turned the lights off & covered myself with the blanket & closed my eyes.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel any sleepiness come & I knew I won't be able to sleep yet. So, I took my mp3 & stuffed the earphones into my ears & started playing some songs. Mostly calming & songs that have beautiful melodies.

I decided on putting the song "Hitomi no Kotae by Noria" on repeat. It was a beautiful song & I just loved the instrumentals.

After a long while, I drifted off to sleep with my earphones still plugged.

"Anis…Anis, wake up." I heard Eric say in a gentle tone. I felt him put his hand on my head & I groaned.

"Come on Anis. Wake up." he urged & I sighed, ignoring him. I heard him click his tongue & suddenly, it felt cold. I felt for my blanket & it was gone.

"Get up. You should meet with your friends now." he said & my eyes opened.

Right. We leave today.

I sat up & sighed, rubbing my eyes.

"Get dressed. We'll go to school & after that we'll be leaving." Eric said & I nodded then got out of bed.

I was still half-asleep so I bumped into the wall. I heard Eric chuckle & I growled making him shut up.

I took a bath & changed into comfy jeans, a white blouse paired with a grey jacket & some sneakers.

"I'm done. Let's go." I simply said, still sleepy & we headed out my room.

Once we got down to the main room, I saw auntie wearing black pants, & a white shirt with a black jacket. As usual, she had her hair tied up in a high ponytail.

"Oh, Anis, you're awake. You should head to school now. I'll be waiting here." she said & I nodded with a smile.

"Let's go anis." Eric called & we left the house.

As we headed to school, it was complete silence between us.

"Eric, once we get there, what're we gonna do?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmm, well, I dunno really. But, I will still train you." he simply said & I nodded.

"Are you mad?" he suddenly asked.

"Hmm? No. I'm just sleepy that's all." I said, rubbing my eyes.

I wasn't lying. Honestly. I've already grasped the fact that I'll be leaving this world. Eric stood next to me & put his hand on my head. I looked up at him & he gave me a gentle smile.

"We'll come back anyway." He said. I blinked & smiled back.

"Yeah." I replied.

After a while, we got to the school gates & I took out my phone then dialed Akira's number.

It rang for a bit & Akira answered.

"Anis?" she asked.

"Yup. Hi Akira. Where are you guys?" I asked, trying to find them.

"Oh, we're at the garden of course. Where are you? Are you coming to school?" she asked.

"Yup. I'm here already. Wait for me there 'kay?" I said & hung up.

"I'll wait for you here." Eric said & I nodded. I walked in the campus & half ran to the garden.

I got to the back of the auditorium & saw the three of them: Akira, Iyumi & Hikaru laughing all together while watching something on Iyumi's laptop.

"Guys." I called & they all looked up with huge smiles.

"Anis!" Iyumi cried happily & tackle hugged me. I smiled a bit & walked to Hikaru & Akira sitting next to Iyumi.

"Why did you suddenly disappear the other day? Plus, you didn't say anything." Akira pouted & I pursed my lips.

"Sorry, there was a family emergency." I lied.

"Oh, what happened?" Iyumi asked.

"Nothing major." I said & sighed.

"Anis, you look troubled. What is it?" Hikaru pointed. I blinked & laughed a bit.

Didn't think it was gonna be this hard to tell them.

"Umm, I have to tell you guys something." I finally said.

"Alright." Iyumi said.

"Listen okay? And, I don't want you telling anybody any of this okay? This is a complete secret." I said carefully.

They all looked at each other and then to me.

"Anis, tell us." Akira urged with worried eyes.

I took a deep breath & told them everything.

After that, I kept my eyes on the ground, wondering if they would believe anything I said.

"Anis…really? So that's why you disappeared from school?" Hikaru asked.

I looked up at them & they had a confused expression. They must be debating to themselves whether to believe me or not.

"I know it…sounds weird but I'll prove it." I said & raised my right hand. Suddenly, a ball of crystal clear water formed in my hand.

"WHOA!" the three of them yelled in awe.

"WOW! That's awesome Anis!" Hikaru praised with a huge grin.

"So, that means you really _are_ going to leave." Akira said with a sad tone.

"Well, we'll come back someday. I just don't know when." I smiled.

"Anis…you better come back." Iyumi ordered with a pout. I grinned at her & nodded.

"Yep!" I smiled & we all laughed together, sharing a few moments of happiness together. I suddenly felt a huge weight pull off my shoulders & I feel much better.

We decided to take some pictures with Iyumi's laptop & hang out before I leave.

"Hey, I need to go now. My auntie will be waiting." I said, standing up.

"Ah, fine." Akira said & they all stood up then they glanced at each other, suddenly smiling. And to my surprise, Akira & Iyumi tackle hugged me.

"Wah! Hey! Guys, I'm gonna fall!" I yelled happily & we all laughed again. They let go of me & suddenly, Hikaru raised his fist in front of him, his knuckles towards me. I blinked at him & saw he was smiling mischievously like normal.

"See 'ya kid." He snickered. I rolled my eyes & we did a fist bump. After the goodbye's, I hesitantly left them in the garden. It was good to leave now anyway since classes will be starting in a few minutes & Eric must be getting impatient.

"BYE ANIS! WE'LL MISS YOU!" Iyumi yelled while I walked to the gates.

"Wait! Anis!" Akira called. Once I turned, she ran to me & hugged me. I felt her put something around my wrist & once she let go, I looked down to see she put a silver bracelet that shone brightly under the sun & had three letters written on it.

"A.H.I.?...Ahee?" I asked with confusion & Akira rolled her eyes.

"Akira, Hikaru & Iyumi. Jeez, you're as dumb as ever Anis." Akira giggled & the edge of my mouth twitched.

"Whatever. You're contagious." I snickered making her smile darkly.

"What was that again? Say that once more you little weirdo." She hissed while pulling my cheeks.

"Gah! Stop it you little horse!" I muttered. (We called her horse since she looks a lot like one whenever she climbs up the stairs.)

She let go of me & sighed. "I'll miss you. You irritating girl." she smiled.

"Me too, horsy." I snickered & we hugged once more.

After all that, I finally left & suddenly, I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I rubbed them, clearing any trace of tears away.

I got to the gates & saw Eric leaning on the cement wall, staring up at the sky.

I blinked & sniffed making him turn to me.

"Ah, you're here." he smiled & walked to me then put his hand on my head.

"You okay?" he asked gently & I nodded. "Yeah." I replied with a happy expression. He blinked at me then smiled too.

"Tell me about it would 'ya?" he asked while we walked back home.


	11. Others Have Cars, I have Fluffy Spirit

CHAPTER 11:

"Really?...well, it's good that they took it well though." Eric smiled as we went inside the house. Once we went in, I was in for the shock of my life.

Standing in the main room was a huge fuzzy thing. It kinda looked like a teddy bear only it was green & it had a pink flower in its head. Also, it was a lot taller than Eric.

"Oh, hey kids! You're back!" I heard auntie say from somewhere.

I looked around, trying to find her voice. "Auntie? Where are you?" I asked.

And suddenly, Auntie popped out of the thing's side making me freeze.

"GYAH! What the!" I screamed as I jumped back, shaking. What the heck is this? I come home after a touching goodbye with my best friends & I come home to see a huge fur ball with my aunt in it.

"Oh, don't be alarmed. I'm only hiding beneath its fur. No harm done." Auntie giggled. I sighed with relief & heard Eric snicker. I glanced at him & he stopped laughing but there was still a grin on his face.

"Anis, this is Naami, a forest spirit." Auntie said, pulling herself out of the green fur ball.

"MII!" it squealed. I blinked & ended up smiling.

"Che….cute." I muttered under my breath. "But, what is it doing here?" I asked.

"Oh, well, for a first timer like you, you have to hide in it while we teleport to Fiore." She said nonchalantly. My mouth simply fell & I slowly backed away from Naami.

"Uhm, just a sec…I…I don't think that's-" I started but, suddenly, I was in the arms of the fluff ball.

"Miii.." it trailed off & I caught a peek of its beady eyes.

"Hmmm….looks like Naami likes you. Well, then now that we're all ready, Naami? You may hide her." Auntie smiled & my eyes widened.

"EEK! Wait! Wait! Wai-!" I thrashed wildly & suddenly, Naami pushed me to its side & I was in the spirits fur. Or more like vegetation.

I had my knees pushed up to my chest & it was actually cozy here.

"Well anis, how is it?" I heard auntie ask but her voice was muffled.

"Umm, as cozy as it is in here, why do I have to stay in here?" I asked with a dumbfounded expression.

"It's cause' this is your first time to teleport & the first trip is always the hardest. If you're not in there, you'll get really dizzy & you'll be out for a whole day. Now, we wouldn't want that now do we?" auntie giggled. I blinked & sighed.

"Fine, fine. Well, I guess I'll get comfortable then!" I snickered & started fixing myself until I was completely happy with my place.

"Okay, let's go to Fiore." Auntie said & suddenly, I felt something tugging at my stomach. I felt we were moving & after a second, it felt like I was floating in the air & my stomach tingled.

You know the feeling when you ride a roller coaster & it's going for a freefall? Yeah, it's that feeling and…I simply hate roller coasters. I swallowed my saliva, urging myself to keep my breakfast in my stomach.

Then, a small, dark green flower popped up next to me coming out from the green vegetation. I blinked & I smelled a sweet scent.

"_Eat this young lady. You'll feel better_." I heard a low voice say. I blinked & glanced around.

"_uhmm, what was that_?" I thought.

"_It's me, Naami. Eat the flower & your nausea will be gone in a while._" He replied. I blinked & since I felt like I just might throw up at any minute, I picked the flower & ate it.

Wondering how it tastes like? Well, for me it tasted great (since I love vegetables.) it had that soft, lettuce texture & it had the taste of honey in it.

Once I swallowed it…boy was I wrong about it being good.

The taste of that disgusting & gooey fever medicine from my childhood formed in my mouth & I gagged, pulling out my tongue & trying to look for water.

"_Sorry, that's how it actually tastes like. But, the taste will disappear in a while_." I heard Naami say. I swallowed my spit again & nodded.

"_Yeah. Thanks Naami_." I thought. "_By the way, how long until we get to Fiore?_" I thought.

"_We're already here_." he said & I blinked, popping out of Naami's fur. What I saw simply made my eyes grow wide.

We were standing in the middle of what looked like a long stone bridge & in front of us was a huge island with tall stone towers, buildings & houses popping out from the forest of trees.

"Welcome home Anis….This is Albion city." I heard Auntie say. I scanned the place with an open mouth.

Well, how should I describe it?

First of all, the place is huge. I bet it could be bigger than the whole of Japan. Seeing the view from the bridge, Albion city was simply like the Hanging Gardens only I could see bullet trains speeding around the tall mountains and it was much more modern. It looked absolutely beautiful & surrounding the city was the sea. I pulled myself out from Naami & while I got out, the strong, howling wind tackled me.

I squinted at the city in awe with my hair swirling around my face. I turned around to see, farther back, there was a smaller town.

"Well? What do you think? Pretty cool huh?" Eric asked with a grin. I blinked at him & noticed that he looked much livelier & then frowned to see he looked even more handsome now. I realized I was staring at him & immediately looked away, my face feeling hot.

"Let's go now! Ciel & Elizabeth will be waiting for us!" Auntie Emily called out happily with Naami waddling next to her. The two of them walked ahead & I glanced at Eric.

"Come on." he smiled & we walked ahead, following Auntie.

As we went in further, I realized this place had magic buzzing around it. I looked up at the sky & saw a shining barrier with white lines rippling down.

"Auntie, is that a barrier?" I asked while staring at the white screen.

"Yep. It's to protect the city from demons. Even though Diamondheart guild is here, we still use safety measures just to make sure no one's hurt." Auntie said.

I kept on looking around the place & saw people buying stuff like bottles with weird glittering liquid in them & even saw a man walking around with a 2 tailed wolf on a leash. As strange as that is, I'm not so surprised anymore.

I studied the buildings more & the shops, the houses & the places I would like to hang out in. as we went further in, there was a spacious park with a small, white gazebo in the middle. Around it was grass & benches with kids running around & couples hanging out.

The place looked average though & even the people had the same clothing as the people in the human world. It was like the normal world only, in the human world, you don't see a bear walking along the sidewalk.

"Where's the guild anyway?" I asked.

"Right there." Eric said, pointing at something. I followed his finger & my mouth fell to see a huge, castle-like building at the highest point of the city. It stood out from the rest of the buildings since it shone like it was made from steel or something like that.

"We're going to climb that?!" I shouted making all the other people turn to us. I blinked & cleared my throat with embarrassment.

"Anis, you exaggerate. Of course we'll be getting there in a much modern way." Auntie smiled. I blinked & shrugged my shoulders, wondering how we'll get to the guild.

As we walked through the streets, people started turning to us & whispered to each other.

"Oh, goodness, who is that young woman? She looks like Elizabeth doesn't she?" I heard one woman whisper. Well, not so much of a whisper if I could hear it clearly.

As we passed the streets, people kept murmuring & giving me glances. I kept my eyes on the ground, trying to ignore their looks.

After a while, we finally reached what looked like an abandoned school & I stared up at the wall which was eroded over time. Auntie, Naami & Eric simply walked under the stone arch & turned to me.

"Come on. No need to be scared Anis." she giggled. I rolled my eyes at them & walked under the arch. I stood next to auntie & she snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, at the blink of an eye, we were standing in front of huge wooden double doors like those from medieval castles. My jaw fell & I studied the castle. It seemed that it was actually made of stone.

"Auntie, it's made of stone right?" I asked & she nodded. "Then, why is it so…shiny?" I asked, watching as the sun bounced off from the stones.

"Oh, the rocks we used for building are found near volcanoes. And those rocks are very sturdy. Plus, it gives good ventilation." She smiled.

I blinked & my hand roamed over the smooth walls.

"So, this is Diamondheart." Eric announced. I looked up & saw a signboard had:

"DIAMONDHEART"

Written in bold & beautiful letters.

"Let's go in." auntie smiled & pushed open the doors. Once the doors flew open, my mouth fell to see it was utter chaos here.

Basically, you'll see some people fighting, sparring using their magic, drinking, laughing & there were few people quietly hanging out.

As for the place itself, the floor was really clean & way up front was a wide stage & in front of my feet was a red carpet. (Talk about the celebrity feeling.)

"This is the main hall where all the wizards hang out together. Over there you can see the job listings." Auntie said, pointing to the left side of the hall. Where she pointed, I saw a bulletin board with papers taped on it.

"And over here is the bar where you can replenish your thirst & eat snacks." She said, this time pointing to my right where a small bar stood with a beautiful red haired woman cleaning some cups behind the table.

"That's Jade by the way. One of the top mages in the guild." Auntie whispered & I raised my brow. She looked so calm & sweet. It would be hard to imagine her beating down other people.

As auntie gave me the tour, Eric separated from us & disappeared somewhere.

We sat on one table & while we sipped on some ice tea, someone suddenly sat next to me. I jumped a bit & saw a girl with short blue hair & eyes sit right next to me.

"Hi! You must be the new girl!" she said with a happy & cheerful voice.

She held out her hand with a smile & I blinked at her.

"My name's Kida Forestt. You can call me Ki." She giggled. I blinked once more & smiled at her then shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Anis Phantomhive." I smiled & she blinked.

"Phantom…oh! You're the master's daughter right?" she asked with glittering eyes.

"Uh yeah." I laughed. After the introductions, she started bombarding me with questions like how old I am-basic questions about myself. How it's like in the human world, and tons more. I was getting along well with her & in no time, we were exchanging jokes & happily conversing in comfort.

I was having fun talking with Ki when suddenly; someone banged their hand on our table. I jumped & looked up to see our old green friend-Jack Ace standing over me with a mischievous smile.

I forgot he was a member here. The edge of my mouth twitched with immediate irritation & Ki grabbed my shoulders.

"What do you want Jack? Anis, stay away from this guy! He's a real troublemaker." Ki said, sticking out her tongue. I snickered & sighed.

"We've met actually. And yeah, he's a _real_ troublemaker." I hissed at Jack. He raised his brow & sighed.

"Is that the way to treat your fellow member Phantomhive?" he asked, while he shook his head in disappointment & I rolled my eyes.

"Oi! Jack! Where' Eric? Heard he's here along with the master's daughter!" someone yelled from somewhere.

"I dunno where that Eric is. But, the master's kid is here." he said pointing to me.

"Huh? Where?!" another person yelled & people started to walk to us.

After a second, our table was surrounded by people.

"Oooh! She does look like Miss Elizabeth!" I heard one girl say & I smiled a bit.

"What's your name?" one guy asked.

"Uhm, Anis." I said with a kind smile & they all oohed. They all greeted me & asked me questions too. They weren't so bad. They weren't awkward at all, plus, they're all very talkative so, it'll be easy for me to talk to them.

"Anis!" I heard a man's voice call. Everyone turned to the upper floor & I looked up to see my mom & dad along with a smiling Eric.

"You're here!" mom smiled & instead of going down the stairs, dad snapped his fingers & in a flash, they were right behind me. I turned to the m& they both hugged me.

"Good to see you again honey. Let's go upstairs. I made some hot chocolate." Mom said while dragging me to the stairs & my eyes brightened at hearing hot chocolate.


	12. The Fairies Of Fairy Tail

CHAPTER 12:

"So, how did it go with your friends?" mom asked gently & I flinched a bit as the hot chocolate stung my lip.

"It went well…I told them what was going on & they believed me…I'll come back there right?" I asked.

"Oh, of course honey. We can go there on vacations." Mom promised as we stopped in front of a door that said 'Office'.

Dad opened the door & I saw it was a normal office. It was a lot like the principal's office since I've been there a lot. (Not because I did something wrong!)

Mom & I sat down at the soft leather sofa & dad sat on the other sofa opposite of us.

As we drank some hot chocolate, we talked about what happened back in Japan & the subject turned to demons.

"Eric told us that you're able to control your powers now." dad said with delight in his voice. I nodded with a small smile & sipped more hot chocolate.

"And, he told us about Kurohime too. I thought you had the guards check his cell all the time." mom said pointedly at dad.

"Well, I thought he was still there. It was incredible he was able to break past the barriers actually." Dad replied.

"Don't tell me more demons are coming to the human world. If there are…" I trailed off, starting to worry for my friends.

"No, none of that will happen honey. We made sure of it. The counsel of mages had a meeting just the day before & all the guild heads worked together to form an impassable barrier around the portals leading to the human world. No demon will be able to go past that." Mom assured.

I nodded & stared at the hot chocolate.

"Mom, don't you think those demons were after….me?" I asked & they both froze.

"What do you mean?" dad asked, with worried eyes.

I told them about the incident with the long-haired demon & what it said: "We will destroy your clan…"

After telling them the story, they both froze.

"So, they're still at it." mom said, looking at dad with worried eyes. Dad sighed & bit his lower lip. A gesture he would do whenever he's troubled about something.

"We have no choice. We just have to wait until those people attack again." dad said.

"You won't go after them?" I asked, bewildered. Normally, people who have their family threatened would immediately go looking for the threaten_er_.

"There's no use in doing that. Fiore is a large world Anis. They could be anywhere. And with our family's…reputation, it would be hard to go around this world unnoticed by others." Dad explained. I glanced back & fourth between them, wondering what dad meant by 'reputation'.

Dad saw my confusion & chuckled.

"Oh, right. You know nothing about our family secrets." He smiled.

"Please do tell." I said, the edge of my mouth twitching with irritation.

"Our family lives to exterminate demons…bad demons. Those that are known to be criminals & have killed people." dad said with a confident smile.

"So, we're like...hunters?" I asked with a skeptical smile. It's pretty hard to imagine my mom-who's always so lady-like, holding a weapon of some sort & start killing demons.

"Well, you can say that. Also, your father is one of the 10 wizard saints- the most powerful wizards known." Mom explained.

"Oh." I simply said.

"But, I do wonder…who's after us…" dad trailed off, walking to the window & staring out into the bright day.

I sighed & I felt a little uneasy. My mom must've noticed & put her hand on my forehead.

I looked up with surprise & she blinked at me then smiled.

"Well, you're okay. You should go back down & get to know the members here, make new friends." She smiled. I suddenly felt a little hesitant to go back down there. It was a little nerve wrecking to talk to new people.

I nodded with a small smile & mom pulled me up.

"Go on then." She urged & pushed me out the door. Once I got out, I was met by Eric who was leaning on the polished wooden railings. I noticed he changed into new clothes.

He wore black baggy pants & a white v-neck shirt paired with a black blazer. I realized I was staring at him & I felt my face heat up. I cleared my throat & looked somewhere else.

"Uhm, hey. What're you doing here? Are you gonna talk to mom & dad?" I asked.

"Nope." He said, shaking his head & suddenly grabbed my hand & started pulling me to the stairs.

"Hey! Where we going?!" I asked as we half-ran down the stairs.

"Training of course." He simply said, smiling at me with a breathtaking crooked smile. I blinked & kept my head down as we ran past the other guild members and out the doors.

Once we got out, I squinted my eyes from the shining sun.

"Hey, where are we training?" I asked as Eric dragged me through the crowd.

"I know some people who can fight really well…tell me…" he said & turned to me.

"Do you believe in…Dragons?" he asked with an excited look on his face. I blinked & my heart started beating wildly.

"What're you talking about?..." I asked & we stopped. I pulled my hand away & I felt my heart go crazy. Eric stared at me & the edge of my mouth grew into a very wide smile.

"I LOVE DRAGONS! They're awesome! Are you saying you know a dragon?!" I yelled excitedly while staring up at Eric while biting my lower lip, keeping the excitement in me. He blinked & stared at me then chuckled.

"Well, they're not dragons…but they were _raised_ by ones." He smiled & my jaw simply fell.

"That's so…awesome…to meet a dragon is…" I trailed off. I blinked & started pushing Eric's back.

"Huh? Hey! What?" he asked as I pushed him through the crowd.

"Well hurry up then! If these people will be training me then bring it! This'll be so fuuun!"" I snickered. I heard Eric sigh & he took my hand as we walked through the crowd.

To be honest, it was very hard to walk calmly when I keep myself from jumping up & down.

After an hour, we reached the city's limits & Eric stopped.

"This is where we're meeting them?" I asked & Eric shook his head.

"Nope. We're going to a city called Magnolia. That's where their guild is." Eric explained & raised his right hand & pulled me to him.

My heart went crazy again & I struggled to compose myself as his wonderful scent hypnotized me. But, with his hand wrapping around my waist, it was a little hard to do so.

He then snapped his fingers & in a blink of an eye, we were standing in front of an old broken down building made of wood. To describe it thoroughly, it looked like windmill.

At the front of the building, there was a symbol of what looked like some kind of…um, bird sitting on an arrow? I dunno. (It's pretty hard to describe.)

"Where are we?" I asked.

"This is the guild called Fairy Tail." He announced with a smile.

"Fairy Tail?" I asked & he nodded then looked back at the windmill.

"Hmm, wonder why it's so quiet. I heard that Natsu & the other members returned." Eric muttered & walked to the front doors. He pushed open the doors & from where I was standing, I saw it was empty.

Eric went inside & I decided to follow him instead of looking like some fool staring at the place.

I got inside to see that it was kinda like ours only; it was a little...small & empty.

"I thought you said this was a guild." I muttered, unimpressed.

"It is! But, where are they?" Eric said, looking around for some people.

"Hey guys!" a woman's voice called.

We both turned in surprise & I saw a girl with long flowing yellow hair with some kind of wings on the sides of her head as accessories. She was wearing a light blue dress & she was really cute.

"Mavis!" Eric said with surprise & the girl pranced towards us. She was smaller than I expected. She was only till my shoulder.

She looked up at me & blinked. I blinked back & she smiled at me.

"Oh, you're Ciel & Elizabeth's daughter right? The two masters of Diamondheart!" she giggled & I nodded.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Anis." I smiled sheepishly & she shook my hand.

"Eric, is she your girlfriend now?" Mavis suddenly asked making me freeze.

"Well, no…" Eric said & my heart sank.

"Not yet." He added. My eyes widened & I looked up at him to see he was looking at me with a mischievous look & winked at me. My chest felt tight & I felt like turning into a puddle.

"Oohh." Mavis giggled. "Well, anyway, you two lovebirds, all the guild members are at Crocas. They decided to join the Grand Magical tournament." Mavis explained.

"Huh? They joined too?" Eric asked & scratched the back of his head.

"What's that?" I asked with confusion.

"The grand magical tournament is held annually & it's when wizard guilds compete with each other to hold the title of Best Guild in Fiore." Mavis giggled.

"So, are we participating too?" I asked & Eric nodded.

"Yep. But I'm not one of the participants. I didn't know about this till' now anyway." He laughed sheepishly.

"Oh, so you two only came back today?" Mavis asked & Eric nodded.

"I see. Well, you should go too. We saw your guild mates there too." Mavis said.

"Ah, so that's why there weren't much people in the guild." Eric sighed. "Well, guess we're going to head back then. The others might leave us behind." Eric sighed.

"Okay then. Goodbye! It was nice meeting you Anis!" Mavis giggled & suddenly disappeared.

"Wah! Where'd she go?!" I yelled in alarm, looking around the place.

"Mavis Vermillion was the first master of Fairy Tail." Eric announced & my eyes widened. That girl was the master of a guild? Wow.

"Let's go." Eric called & walked past me, waiting for me outside. I ran out the place & again, Eric put his arms around me & snapped his fingers. Again, we were back at the guild's front doors but now, it was unbelievably quiet.

We went inside to see that everyone was gone & the only thing greeting us was a note on one of the wooden tables.

Eric took it & sighed. "Yeah, they already left & went to Crocas." He announced as the edge of his lips twitched. I giggled at him & he sighed.

"Come on, let's pack up & head for Crocas." He said & we walked up the stairs.

We stopped in front of a room that said was labeled Funtom with gold letters.

"This is your room." He said & pushed open the door. I gasped as I walked in to the room exactly the same as mine back in the human world.

It had the same black wall with white stars printed on them, the same light blue bed, bathroom & even the mini library in the corner along with the study table. The only thing missing was the balcony.

"How, is this…" I trailed off in wonder.

"I did it myself. I figured you'll really miss your old room." he said, smiling sheepishly. I blinked & smiled widely at him & tackle hugged him.

"Thank you Eric!" I smiled widely. He blinked & suddenly, blood seemed to rush in his cheeks. He cleared his throat & looked away from me.

"Uh, s-sure. No pr-problem." He stuttered. I blinked & giggled a bit. So he has a really cute side too.

"So, how much should I pack up?" I asked.

"Maybe enough clothes for two weeks." He said while leaning at the door. I nodded then started taking some clothes while Eric left me to pack.

After a few minutes, I was done packing the things into my very large backpack & decided to change my clothes.

I changed into comfortable jeans, a black sweater paired with a sleeveless white cardigan. I put on some sneakers & headed out.

"Eric! I'm done!" I yelled as I closed the door.

"I'm down here." I heard him say. I looked down to see Eric sitting on of the tables downstairs. I rushed down & stopped in front of him.

"Well? Let's get going!" I said with a smile. He raised his brow at me & snorted.

"You look enthusiastic." He smiled as we walked out the guild.

"I'm excited to meet these Fairy Tail people. You said you know someone who was raised by one right?" I asked him & he nodded.

"He's really powerful & I bet he can help you with your fire training." He said & I grew more excited.

Eric raised his hand & again held me close then snapped his fingers.

In a flash, we were standing in the middle of a crowded place. I looked around with an open mouth to see tall houses made of rock & some shops on the sides. I noticed the tons of flowers hanging on some of the houses.

I grew a little uncomfortable as some of the people started looking at us with shock to see us pop out from nowhere.

At the middle of everything, I saw a group of people, maybe about our age or a bit older. There were 4 of them and they were all lying on the floor, looking exhausted. I blinked & tugged at Eric's sleeve.

"Um, who're they? They seem to stand out." I said & Eric looked at the four people. His eyes grew bright & he raised his hand up the air.

"Guys! Natsu! Gray!" he called & two of the guys turned to us.

One of them had pink, spiky hair & he was wearing some kind of weird shirt that only had a right sleeve. On his other arm was a tattoo with the same symbol of Fairy Tail.

"Hey! It's Eric!" the guy with pink hair yelled cheerfully. He got up immediately & ran to us, stopping in front of me.

I leaned away since his face was only inches from mine.

"Hey, who's this? She looks a lot like Mr. Funtom." He said, thoughtfully & suddenly, Eric hit his head with his fist, making him fall on his chin.

"Yeah, this is Master's daughter, Anis." Eric introduced while the edge of his mouth twitched.

"It's nice to meet you then. I'm Gray Fullbuster." A man's voice said & I looked up to see a guy with spiky, dark blue hair, smiling kindly at me with his hand raised as if to shake my hand. He was wearing a white coat & I really liked it. Wonder where he bought it.

"Oh, nice to meet you too." I said, shaking his hand.

"Sorry about this _idiot_. This is Natsu Dragneel." He said, stepping on Natsu's back.

I heard Natsu growl & he suddenly, stood up, making Gray fall to back. "Whoa!" Gray yelled with surprise.

"Hi! Nice to meet ya'!" Natsu grinned widely & shook my hand vigorously.

"Haha, you too." I smiled.

"So, you two dating?" I heard Natsu whisper to Eric. Well, I couldn't say it was a whisper since I heard it clearly.

"Well, I dunno if she'll agree to that." Eric smiled mischievously & winked at me. My heart fluttered & I looked away, my face heating up again.

"Well, Anis, be careful of the guy. He's pretty crazy." Natsu snickered.

"Haha, very funny Natsu." Eric chuckled darkly as he cracked his knuckles with a dark smile. Natsu shuddered & jumped away, hiding behind a girl with blonde hair.

She was wearing a mini skirt & she had a pack of gold keys on her belt. Beside her was a small girl with long dark blue hair. She was really cute with the accessories in hair that made her look like a cat.

And at the other side of the blonde girl was a girl with long scarlet hair. She was wearing shiny armor that bore the symbol of Fairy Tail at the left side of her chest. She also wore a blue skirt & I saw she was staring at me. I looked away, embarrassed & a little intimidated. These people look so cool.

After a while of introductions, I found out the girl with scarlet hair was Erza Scarlet. Also called Titania, she was one of the most powerful wizards in Fairy tail. The small girl was Wendy Marvell & the blonde girl was Lucy Heartfilia.

They all looked so cool & I wondered if I'll be able to catch up to them.

"Oh, Anis, Natsu here is a Dragon slayer." Eric said & I froze. I looked up at Eric with shock since I know dragon slayers are ones that kill dragons.

Eric seemed to get it & snickered. "No, not like that. He was raised by a fire dragon named Igneel & he can use the powers of a dragon to fight." Eric informed. My jaw fell a bit & I glanced at Natsu who was smiling widely.

"Yep. I'm a dragon slayer." He smiled.


	13. Impressive Mages, Newbie Anis

CHAPTER 13:

"Wait, so you know a dragon? A _fire_ dragon?" I asked with shock & he nodded.

"Whoa…that's so cool." I said with awe & he grinned widely.

"Yeah! Right?! You like dragons? The one who raised me is called Igneel!" he asked with bright eyes.

"I _love_ dragons." I simply said, excitement growing in me.

"Cool!" he yelled cheerfully.

"So, you're finally here." a man's voice said.

"We all turned to see a very small, no, tiny man with white hair & he was wearing a white cape.

"Hey gramps! Look here! It's Mr. Funtom's daughter! He's that awesome element wizard right?!" Natsu asked. The small man walked up to me & I looked down at him since he was only as tall as my knees.

"Hmmm, so, it's been a very long time Anis. I'm sure you don't remember me since you were still a baby when I last saw you. Your father & I are very close friends. You've grown into quite a lady by the way." He praised with a smile behind his bushy moustache.

"Ah, thank you sir." I bowed hiding my embarrasment. "Please, call me grandpa." He chuckled.

"Anyway, where's Ciel? I thought your guild will be participating as well?" gramps asked Eric.

"Ah, yeah. We don't know. They left us back there so; we have no clue where they are." Eric said with a sheepish smile.

"Ah, there you two are!" I heard dad's voice say.

Eric & I turned to see mom and dad with a bunch of our guild mates behind them. I saw Ki & she caught my eye too. She smiled widely & ran to me, tackling me.

"Anis! There you are! You've gotta see their shops! They have really cool things there!" she said with excitement.

"Really? Dad, can we go?" I asked dad with bright eyes. Honestly, I was really eager to see the things around here.

"Okay then. Ki, don't lose her okay?" dad said pointedly. Ki nodded with a grin. "Yes master!" she giggled.

"Hey! Master, wait! She has training!" Eric called with his brows knit.

"Ah, come now Eric, don't be so uptight. Anis will come back into your arms by the end of the day." dad chuckled with a wink to Eric while he walked to him. Eric blushed insanely & pouted, putting his hands in his pockets stubbornly.

Dad seemed to whisper something to Eric that made him blush insanely.

"Wh-whatever!" Eric yelled stubbornly making dad roar with laughter.

Dad turned to Fairy Tail's master with a smile.

"Ah! Makarov! It's good to see you after 7 long years!" Dad laughed.

"Yes Ciel. It has been a long time. I heard that DiamondHeart's the 2nd most popular guild in Fiore!" Mr. Makarov-I mean, _Master_ Makarov said.

Eric walked over to me & I raised my brow. "What did dad tell you?" I asked curiously.

He suddenly twitched & blushed even more. "I-It's nothing really." he stuttered. I snickered & decided to just keep wondering about it.

"Anyway, Anis, you can't go. We have training remember?" Eric asked as he took my wrist.

"Oh no, you don't! You've been with Anis for a _long_ time now! I wanna bond with her since I'll be participating in the tournament & I won't be able to be with her too much!" Ki argued as she pulled my other arm.

Eric sighed & rolled his eyes. "Fine then." Eric whined as he hesitantly let go of my wrist.

"I'll be back anyway." I smiled. He stared at me & to my surprise, he quickly kissed my forehead.

"You better." He smiled mischievously. I blinked & rolled my eyes, hiding my blush.

"Anis, will you be going with Ki?" mom asked & I nodded.

"Well, be back before 12 o' clock okay its part of the rules since Ki is participating." Mom informed & we both nodded.

"You'll be staying at Lodge Honeybone okay? 2nd floor, room number 15." Mom said & we both nodded.

"Hey Ki! Don't you dare let Anis get hurt!" Eric yelled to Ki.

"Shut up you dummy! I'll protect her better than _you_ do!" Ki yelled back as she stuck out her tongue.

"Well you two, have fun! We'll be going around too okay?" dad called as they walked away along with the other guild members & Fairy Tail. Natsu turned to me with a huge grin.

"Hey Anis! How 'bout I'll teach you about fire magic once all this is over?" he asked & my eyes grew bright.

"Yep! No prob!" I smiled. Well, at least he was gonna teach me. Eric gave me one last peek of his pouting face & I smiled at him. To my surprise, he blushed again.

He's been going red way too much today.

Once they all left, Ki & I exchanged glances & we giggled with excitement. We then started to roam around the city, buying some of the cool products like fairy glitter, cool shiny stones & flowers too.

We were running around the city like little kids until it got darker & we were amazingly tired.

We sat on a bench with our shopping bags next to us.

"Hey, Ki, let's go. You need energy for this tournament right?" I sighed & she nodded.

"Aha, yep." She smiled & suddenly, a little person popped out from a cloud & sat on her shoulder.

I flinched away from her in surprise with my hands held up.

"Oh, so this is Anis! Hello!" The little person smiled.

"Ah, Anis, don't be so alarmed. This is Uumi. She's one of my spirits." Ki announced.

If you're wondering how she looks like, well, she's as long as my pointing finger & she looks a lot like a chibi. She has huge blue eyes & she was wearing a matching blue dress. She had small stars sparkling around her.

"Um, what does she do?" I asked & Uumi floated towards me, floating in front of my face.

"I'm a spirit & Ki has lots more spirits like me. But, I'm her spirit partner since we've been together ever since who knows." She giggled with her high & cute voice.

"Anis, I use these spirits & summon them. Uumi is a star spirit & I can borrow her powers & use them as my own." Ki explained & stood up.

"Let me show you. Uumi?" Ki asked & Uumi flew towards Ki. Suddenly, Ki started to glow & levitate a few feet from the ground.

My eyes widened as waves of blue light enveloped her & burst. Once all that light was gone, Ki was now wearing a blue tank top that showed her navel, shorts paired with long blue & black striped socks & a velvet blue cape with stars that looked like they were sparkling & taken out from the sky.

"Wow." Was all I could say. Ki giggled & Uumi popped out from nowhere.

"So now, I'll be able to use Uumi's star powers!" Ki giggled & snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the stars on her cape flew towards me & revolved around me giving me a beautiful sight. I grasped on star & it floated on my palm. It felt so light & warm and it was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

"Awesome." I said with awe & she did a performer's bow with a smile. Ki then waved her hand & she glowed again then changed back into her normal self.

The stars around me disappeared & Uumi sat between me & Ki.

"Well Ki, we should do our best in the tournament. I heard that Fairy Tail is also participating." Uumi smiled.

"Yeah. Fairy Tail's been gone for so long, plus, they were the most powerful guild 7 years ago." Ki said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean 7 years ago? What happened to them?" I asked.

"Ah, right, you don't know. Well…" Ki said & told me the entire story.

To summarize, it involved a sacred island called Tenroujima & a very powerful thing called Acnologia.

"Oh, so Fairy Tail was gone for 7 years & came back. Wow. Didn't know that the magic world is so awesome. I thought it was all about evil people like Voldemort." I laughed & Ki tilted her head.

"Who's Voldemort?" she asked & I blinked.

"Ah right, you don't know about that." I said with a smile & told her about the Harry Potter series.

"Oh wow! Well, there _are_ some mages like that but, we barely use wands like they do." Ki smiled. I then looked up at the sky & sighed.

"Hey, we should go now." I said, standing up. Ki sighed as well & stretched her arms.

"Yep. Let's go then!" she giggled & linked her arm with mine then we both walked to the lodge.


	14. Mom & Dad's Little Surprise

CHAPTER 14:

We got to the lodge & we went to our room. Once Ki opened it, we both froze to see the decorations around the room were messed up & a very large teddy bear was sitting on one if the beds, eating some grapes.

And, lying on the other bed, with his face down & his arms spread out on the sheets was Jack and sitting comfortably on top of his back was Eric who was eating a sliced watermelon like this scene was completely normal.

"Uhm…what in the world is this?" I asked with a blank expression.

"Oh, hi girls. This is nothing. Jack was only asking for a little spar so I gave it to him." Eric smiled innocently.

"Oi, you two sleep on that side of the room." Jack muffled. I blinked & sighed.

"So, we'll be rooming with you two? Well then, first of all…take a bath. You boys stink." Ki said, pinching her nose. I smiled a bit & saw my backpack was already on the pink bed.

"Ah, I'm beat." Eric said, getting off Jack & jumping to the other bed.

"Yeah, maybe tomorrow." Jack grinned with a very comfortable pose.

"Either take a bath or you two will be sleeping outside." I threatened with a smile.

"_Make us_." Jack taunted, sitting up with a smirk on his face. The edge of my mouth twitched with irritation & I held out my hand. A ball of fire blazed on top of my hand and Jack froze.

"So, what'll it be?" I asked with an evil smile. Jack sighed & got up, glaring at me while he went into the bathroom. I sighed & finished fixing my things.

'Wonder what'll happen at 12.' I thought to myself. For some reason, I was feeling uneasy.

"Eric, what's gonna happen in the tournament?" I asked & he blinked at me with a thoughtful expression.

"Well, basically they play games like races…and there are the battles and so on." he explained with a smile on his lips.

I nodded & checked my watch. I raised my brow since I saw it was already 11:59. Perfect. Now I'll know what's gonna happen at 12. I shuddered with excitement & giggled.

Suddenly my watch beeped & the bell tower outside gonged.

"To all the guilds out there, good morning. To narrow down the competing teams from 113 to eight, we will have…preliminaries!" I heard someone say over a microphone.

"Where's that coming from?" I asked as my eyes darted all over the place & the three of us went out the balcony & saw a huge 3d projection of a smiling pumpkin that was wearing a cape & weird clothes.

"Who the hell is that?" I muttered with a sweat drop.

"Preliminaries?" I heard Jack ask & turned to see he was now done showering.

"Great. Well, good luck guys." Eric said, patting Jack's shoulder.

The pumpkin blabbed about some things and suddenly, the building shook & tilted to one side, making us hold on to the wooden railings of the balcony.

"Whoa!" I yelled in surprise. "What's going on?! are we apart of the tournament?!" I yelled with panic.

"That's not what master said!" Eric yelled back.

"The event starts now & the official events grounds-Domus Frau will be your destination." The pumpkin announced.

"WAIT! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIGHT! ERIC!" I yelled in panic.

"ANIS WILL YOU CALM DOWN?!" He roared back.

As I was about to retort back at him, the building slowly went upright again & then I could feel us rising like when you ride an elevator up.

"The building are transforming!" Ki cried & pointed at the other buildings that were also rising. I guess that's where the other guild participants are at as well.

"The first team that gets to their destination will enter the finals!" the pumpkin yelled happily. Suddenly, my phone rang. I saw it was mom who was calling & I sighed with relief.

"Mom! What is going on?! Eric & I aren't participating in the tournament!" I shouted.

"Ahaha, well, you kinda are." She laughed nervously & I froze. I guess Eric heard cause' he flinched.

Suddenly, he grabbed he phone from my hands. "MASTER! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! ANIS HASN'T TRAINED YET! PLUS, SHE MIGHT BRING DOWN THE GUILD!" he yelled with such sincerely crazily scared eyes.

"HEY!" I yelled with disbelief.

"It's true!" Eric replied & I glared at him & he put it on loudspeaker.

"Listen you two, the other two participants were you guys. We just decided not to tell you." mom giggled.

"Mom…that is so not funny." I growled as the edge of my mouth twitched with irritation.

"I have to agree master." Eric said with the edge of his lips twitching too.

"Oh come on darling, you'll be fine. I know it." she said with a tone of belief. I looked out at the buildings & thought arguing like this is just a waste of time.

"Ah, jeez." I sighed. "What say you Eric?" I asked & he stared at me with worried eyes.

"And, that's why you're here too Eric…if anything happens to my daughter, you'll be there to protect her." dad suddenly said, his voice popping out.

Eric continued staring at me & I thought of all the progress I had with my powers. I can control them well & since Eric's here, I won't have to worry much.

Eric sighed. "Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's go!" Eric said & threw the phone to me.

"Bye." I said & hung up, stuffing the phone in my bag. Suddenly, planks flew from nowhere, forming a bridge leading somewhere.

"Where do you suppose that leads?" Ki asked and Uumi suddenly poofed out from nowhere sitting on Ki's shoulder.

"You are free to use any sorts of magic. The preliminaries end once all the 9 teams have finished…" the pumpkin trailed off.

"But, you'll be disqualified if your members aren't complete…And also~" he said & paused making us all turn to the projection in alarm.

He raised his gloved finger & I shuddered since he looked like he was getting closer.

"We take no responsibility if anyone _dies_ in the labyrinth." He said & I twitched.

"Labyrinth? Great. I hate those things." Jack muttered. Suddenly, up in the air, a very large ball made of metal formed & the wooden bridge attached itself to the scary ball. I looked up at it with an open mouth.

Man is this place…AWESOME!

"Wow." I simply said, hiding my excitement.

Eric chuckled & I looked up at him with bright eyes. "You're actually excited?" he asked with a raised brow. I simply grinned at him.

"LET THE GRAND MAGIC TOURNAMENT! SKY LABYRINTH BEGIN!" the pumpkin announced & we all raced to the bridge with Eric leading us.

Once we went in, around us were cogs & wires. It seemed like we were in a clock but something about the place seemed a little familiar.

"Hey, this is a little like our guild's inner walls." Jack said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Well, you guys…LET'S GO!" Eric yelled & we all whooped.

"WAHOOO!" I blurted out with a crazy expression, unable to hide my excitement any longer. They all laughed at my enthusiasm & we ran to find the way to the event grounds.

After a minute or two, it seemed we were just running in circles. I sighed in exasperation.

"Which way is the event grounds?" I wheezed as I leaned on the rock wall.

"It's in the east." Eric panted & the edge of my mouth twitched.

East is right, right?

"Darn it. I wasn't supposed to use my powers until the event itself but- Rashimban!" Ki yelled & clapped her hands. In a blink of an eye, there was a new chibi on her other shoulder. This one had huge grey eyes & a small compass in its head.

"Rashimban, can you help us with this one? We need to head east. Lead the way for us please!" she said &the small chibi nodded.

"Follow me." It said with a high, squeaky voice & flew to the right. We all followed her & I noticed Eric was looking a little jumpy.

The labyrinth was really like an obstacle course & I can't even find time to blink. We pounced on levitating blocks & dodged the wires which had very scary weapons strapped to them.

Once all those obstacles were done & we were standing on stable ground, the floor started shaking & we were suddenly tilting again.

"WAH!" I yelped as I slid on the slippery floor. My eyes widened to see that the place I would fall to is a bottomless pit.

"YAAAHHHH!" I shouted & before I could fall, someone grabbed my wrist & I sighed with relief. I looked up to see Jack was pulling me up.

"Better be careful kid. This tournament is no game." He chuckled & I blinked.

"Yeah. No kidding. Thanks for the save." I said & he patted my shoulder.

"Hey guys! Look!" Ki called & we looked ahead to see a marquee saying;

"Congratulation! GOAL!"

I blinked & felt uneasy. "Wait a minute that was way too easy." Eric said & right on cue, I heard someone running in our direction.

"Someone's coming." I said & we readied ourselves.


	15. Albion's Alpha Wolf Is Actually A Cat

CHAPTER 15:

After a minute, nobody's come yet & we were just standing there like a bunch of idiots.

"Anis…if you're kidding with us, it's not very funny." Eric hissed & I had a sweat drop.

"Umm, I _swear_, I heard footsteps." I assured & they all sighed. Once we turned to the goal, the air whizzed & something big flew past my face, cutting a bit of my hair. I froze & slowly turned to see 5 people looking at us with all kinds weapons in their hands. They looked pretty weird with their neon colored hair & weird clothes.

"Sorry, but we're going first." One guy with spiky fuchsia hair sang.

"Tch, well, I hate to disappoint but…" Eric trailed off as he stood between us & the other wizards.

"We're going first." He grinned & suddenly, his scythes popped out from his arms & hands along with the four elements circling him in a vortex.

My jaw fell as I saw he was able to summon all those elements at once without even breaking a sweat. His hair whipped around his face & I could see the mages on the other side stare at him wide eyed.

"I suppose you've heard of Albion's Alpha Wolf?" Jack chuckled along with Ki.

"Wha? Alpha…No way! It's-It's Eric Wolfe of Diamondheart!" One mage shrieked.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" They all yelled & sped away back from where they came from. Once they were gone, the elements dissipated around Eric & his scythes slid back in his arms & hands. He turned to us & I just stared at him with an open mouth.

He chuckled at my face & approached me & winked. I felt my heart jump & my face felt hot as I stared at his fiery, excited eyes.

"Show off." Ki muttered making Eric laugh. Catching me off guard, Eric suddenly kissed my cheek making me freeze.

I heard Ki squeal & Eric leaned away from me with a smirk on his face.

"I'm feeling really happy today." Eric sighed as he stretched his arms & walked to the goal.

"She won't focus Eric." Jack said & we all stepped closer to the goal, with me still dazed & suddenly, the pumpkin man popped out. I jumped a bit, muttering a curse word that made Eric stare at me with amused eyes.

"Congratulations! You are the 1st to pass the preliminary events!" the pumpkin announced & we all high-fived each other.

"Question though, why was it…easy?" I asked & we all froze then turned to the pumpkin.

"Well, of course, it's only the preliminaries. Just wait for the event itself." The pumpkin chuckled & I shuddered.

"Now, go & change into your uniforms & the events shall start." He said & disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Seriously, uniforms? I thought I escaped that once I left the human world." I muttered with annoyance. Eric rolled his eyes at me & we all got ready for the event.

"What is with all this?" I asked as I looked at myself with a blank expression.

Ki & I were wearing the same light blue long sleeved polo paired with dark blue pants. Also, I saw the polo had a symbol printed on it.

It was a little hard to describe but, to start off, there was a small diamond shape in the middle & surrounding it was an upside down letter U with its two 'antennas' as I like to call them, drooping & they also had spikes on the sides.

"I like this symbol." I smiled at Eric. He stared at me & smiled adoringly at me with a tinge of pink on his cheeks. I saw he was now wearing the same uniform as Jack was- black baggy pants paired with grey sleeveless, collared tops which also had the symbol on them. And, the top suited Eric _really_ nicely.

"Oi, Girlie, little hard to focus isn't it?" Jack teased making my face feel hot.

"Shut up." I muttered making him snicker & walk away. Eric shook his head with an amused smile & turned to me.

"It's the guild's insignia. All the members have it branded on a part of their body." Eric explained & pointed at his arm. On his arm, I saw the same symbol but instead of all black, it was black & red.

"You should have one too. Once all this is done." He smiled & for some reason, I shuddered.

"Hey, Anis! Are you ready?" Ki asked with a bright smile.

"Well, I _am_ nervous." I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head. Suddenly, we could hear all the cheering outside. It was all so loud; I could feel the floor shake.

"Can I _really_ do this?" I muttered. Eric then held my hand & his warmth spread through my cold hand. I looked up at him, still worried.

"It'll be fine. I believe in you. Besides, we're all here to help if you get in trouble." Eric smiled along with Ki and Jack.

I stared at them with awe; I just can't help remembering my friends back in the human world. Suddenly, all the clapping & cheering turned into boo's. I blinked & wondered which guild was being shown such unfriendliness.

After a while, the gate ahead of us slowly opened & I squinted as the light beamed at us.

"Now! Let's welcome the 1st team in the preliminaries…" I heard someone announce over the microphone & my heart fluttered.

"Well, that's our cue." Jack said & we all walked together to the gates. I took a deep breath & once I stepped out into the light, I was speechless.

We were now standing in a coliseum & there were tons of people. My ears rang as they cheered crazily.

"Wow. The guild is _this_ popular?" I muttered.

"Let us welcome…The Shining Mages, Diamondheart!" the announcer yelled & I involuntarily raised my fist in the air along with Eric & the others.

"WHOOO!" Jack & Eric yelled in unison making the crowd go wild.

"Oooh, do you see that girl next to Eric Wolfe? I heard she's the daughter of the great Ciel Funtom!" One announcer said & I looked down at the ground.

"Well, she looks a little shy, but I'm wondering what kind of powers she has in store." Another announcer said. The crowd whooped & cheered while I kept my eyes on the ground, feeling more nervous than ever.

Suddenly, Eric held my hand, squeezing it & I looked up at him through my lashes.

"Relax Anis. It'll be okay." he said with a comforting smile & lightly pinched my nose. I gave him a small smile in return.

"Yeah. It'll be fun anis!" Ki giggled with Uumi floating next to her.

"Hey! Eric!" someone called. Eric turned to the right & we saw the Fairy Tail guild members. They were also wearing costumes like us.

"I thought you & Anis weren't participating?" Erza asked.

"Well, the masters gave us a little surprise." Eric said, the edge of his mouth twitching.

"Oh, but, we won't go easy on you!" Gray smiled.

"Hey, hey, we won't either Fullbuster." Jack chuckled.

Suddenly, something small & hard hit the back of my head. I jumped a bit as my hand flew to my head.

"What the?" I muttered & turned to see a girl with long, midnight hair, throwing a stone up & down her hand. She was wearing a long black top paired with black leggings & she wore a white cape that bore the picture of what looked like a cat's skull. She was really beautiful & she looked like a model really.

"Hey, girlie, watch your actions. You're such a show off." She giggled with a low & attractive voice. I blinked at her with my hand still on my head.

What the heck did _I_ do?!

"What is it anis?" Ki asked & turned to the girl as well. Ki then stood in front of me with an angry expression that made me shudder.

"Leave Anis alone Evida." Ki hissed making Eric & Jack turn as well.

"Saber tooth. Why am I not surprised you're bullying our new member?" Eric growled as he glared at them.

"Well, Wolfe, you guys are too much of show offs." One guy with spiky light blonde hair laughed. I blinked at them once more then quietly looked away.

To be honest, I was getting really annoyed at them. I don't wanna start a fight right now so it's best to just leave it alone.

"Excuse us but we were doing nothing of the sort. You're just jealous." Jack scoffed making Eric smile a bit.

"What?!" the guy with light blonde hair hissed & clenched his fist. I tensed & felt he was about to hit Jack.

Before he even pounced, I was suddenly between the two guys with my hands spread out. The white haired guy stopped immediately & I glared at him making him shudder.

"Save it." I hissed, unable to hide my annoyance. He clicked his tongue in annoyance & turned away from us. I stood straight, still boiling inside & huffed, turning my back at them.

"Stop guys." I simply said since I spotted mom & dad along with the other guild members up at the stands, cheering for us. I heard Eric sigh with exasperation. "She's right." Eric agreed & we turned away from them.

"Why so menacing?" I asked Ki.

"If you're referring to Sabertooth, it's because they were the top guild before, but we managed to beat them & give them the 2nd place." Ki explained as we walked away from the guild, keeping a good distance.

I kept my eyes on the ground again, wondering why that girl named Evida took such a dislike to me at the first day.

"Hey, Anis. Don't you know that woman?" Jack asked me & I blinked, looking up at him with a confused look.

"No. should I?" I asked with a puzzled tone.

"Of course she wouldn't know. Evida Corneus' family has had a grudge with the Funtom's for a long time now." Eric explained.

"Huh? Why?" I asked. I've never heard of this.

"Its cause' your father beat Evida's father in a duel a very long time ago. It seems they just can't let go. And ever since Evida saw you as a baby, she's had a growing anger towards you." Eric said with an annoyed expression.

"Wow. First day here & I already have a rival." I muttered with the edge of my mouth twitching. Honestly, I was never one for fights like these since it just seemed like a waste of time.

"Well, just don't mind her." Ki said but she still had a sour look on her face.

"Now, let's begin the opening game of the main tournament." They announced.

"Hidden, starts. Each team shall send out one member. The rules shall be explained once all the team members are gathered." The host said.

"I'll go first. It sounds like hide & seek…and you know how good I am at that." Jack smiled evilly, making me shudder. Jack then walked up to the middle of the stadium as the other wizards also walked up.

From Fairy Tail I saw Gray would be the first one to go & from our rival guild, a male member with long hair stood out wearing a mask that only covered around his eyes & smirked at us. It turns out his name was Rufus, the singing poet of some sort.

"Go get em' Jack!" Ki cheered,

"Look, the event lasts for 5 days. The grand tournament's on the last day." Eric said.

"I wanna battle okay?" I asked Eric & he turned to me with shock. I stared at him with serious eyes & his expression turned hesitant.

"Anis, are you sure about this?" Ki asked.

"I'll find a way to win. Besides…I've had a lot of progress with my powers plus," I said, raising my index finger.

"I'm not the schools top female student just because of my grades." I winked. Eric & Ki looked at each other & Eric pursed his lips.

"All right. But if things get too out of hand, I'll step in." he said & I nodded.

"Why do you want to anyway?" he asked & I smiled.

"I just wanna see how powerful mages can be. And, hopefully, I'll get to learn some things about fighting." I snickered.

"Anis, you are seriously freaking me out." Eric blurted making me laugh. We all turned to the arena & saw all the participants in a circle along with the pumpkin guy in the middle.

Guess he's the referee. They all talked for a while then the referee shot his hands up.

"FIELD OPEN!"

Suddenly, what looked like a town, started to form around the participants. All the other mages that were in the game looked really shocked but Jack stood with his arms crossed in front of him, totally unfazed.

"Hmph, is he that good?" I asked Eric with a raised brow. Suddenly Eric laughed loudly making my eyes grow wide.

He's going nuts.

"Anis, you don't know how funny that question sounds. And…he's the best in _any_ game." Eric said with a confident smirk.


	16. Say Hello to My Awesome Right Hook!

CHAPTER 16:

As a brief summary of all that happened in Jack's game, I simply want to say…we didn't win but, we did get 2nd place. And, the guild that got 1st place was Sabertooth.

It was actually surprising not just for us, but also to the people watching.

Jack came back, walking to us, gloomy & depressed. He looked so haggard & he was covered in dirt.

The three of us stood with pale & shocked faces.

"What happened to you Jack?" Eric asked as he put his hand on Jack's head.

Jack growled & slapped his hand off. Guess losing in a game makes him moody.

"That Rufus guy is good. I can't believe I was hit by his memory whatever spell." Jack hissed as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"Well, you did great anyway." Ki said with a smile. He sighed & rubbed his neck.

"Yeah. We'll get them back next time." I said with a small smile. He stared at me with his brows knit & sighed once more.

"Thanks guys." He smiled & Eric playfully patted his back.

As the guy named Rufus came back, I studied him. He seemed like a very strong mage. After seeing that Jack was beat-someone I couldn't even last a second with in a battle, lost…I'm starting to lose my confidence again.

"Anis."

Turning to the voice, Eric was staring at me. Maybe wondering if I'm not yet going into shock.

I sighed & he walked up to me. "Didn't I tell you not to be so worried?...you can quit if you want to." He suddenly said.

I didn't know why but sudden anger & annoyance grew in me. I turned to him sharply & he jumped with surprise.

"No. I'm not worried. I'm just wondering how much power Sabertooth has. And…I will not quit….it will be an embarrassment for our family name and guild." I said, trying to keep my tone calm & steady instead of annoyed & angry.

I stared up at the crowd & shuddered as their loud, cheers pierced through me, making me shiver like a scared bird.

"Now! The first round of battle for the first day! Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail A & Flare Corona from Raven Tail!" the referee announced.

Lucy came up on the field with a worried but fighting expression while a woman with curly, red, wavy hair & eyes that had black circles under them came out as well.

After a while, the battle began.

I don't wanna go into detail but, I just have to say it was a battle that didn't let me take a breather and it was surprising. (I don't wanna say who wins. It'll be too much of a spoiler now.)

After 3 more battles, it was finally the last one & our guild hasn't been called out yet.

As the judges were talking amongst themselves, I had a really uneasy & worried feeling. While we all waited for the next fighters, I didn't realize I was already chewing my nails until Eric gently pulled down my arm; snapping me out of my trance.

I looked up at him with surprise & took a deep breath that loosened my chest.

"Please remember to breath Anis." he chuckled as he stared at my face. I must've looked really scared since he looked at me with amusement in his eyes.

"Mmmm..." I simply replied.

"Alright! The next round…" the judges announced. I literally wanted to throw a fireball at him for stopping & making me even more nervous.

I was actually able to picture a bunch of tiny Anis' running around my head in panic.

"Next round! Sabertooth, Evida vs. Diamondheart, Anis Funtom!" they announced & the crowd went wild.

Eric, Ki & Jack all froze & the blood drained from their faces…and me?

I simply let my jaw drop & resisted the urge to grip my hair & scream my lungs out.

"Umm…" was all I could mutter.

"Go on girlie! You can do it! You've been talking about your progress & just for help, Evida uses shadow magic." He informed me, helping me feel a little relieved.

"Go Anis!" Ki cheered for me. Eric turned to me with pure shock stretched across his face & gulped.

"Anis…go." He croaked & I felt my heart jump. I saw Evida stride out the field with a model's gait & turned to me and smiled at me. She raised her finger & motioned me to come. I took another deep breath, trying to keep from hyperventilating.

Eric suddenly strode to me with hard, tense eyes & gripped my shoulders.

I stared up at him while he stared at me. He blinked & slowly leaned forward to my left ear making me freeze.

Oh god, Eric, please go away!

My face was hot again & my heart was going insane again as I got a whiff of his awesome cologne.

"Win this and I promise…I'll buy you an entire Chocolate Mousse Cake." He whispered with a seducing tone. In a second, I was alert & I felt all hyper after hearing the word 'cake'.

I whirled quickly & cracked my knuckles, giving Evida a tough guy expression.

"Bring it." I growled & walked up to the field.

Yep, want me to do something as big as this, just mention chocolate or cake & I will go for it.

The crowd went wild again, shaking the ground but instead of feeling nervous, I was energized by them.

I stood in front of Evida & she had her arms crossed and she had an expression filled with arrogance on her face.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance & she giggled at me.

"Hmm, who knew that we'll actually be facing off?...well, I'm sure that with your level of power, I'll surely win." She taunted & I growled deeply in my throat.

"BEGIN!" the referee yelled & I whipped both my hands and in a second, they were engulfed in wild, flames.

I built up some power & pushed the ground, sprinting straight at Evida. She stayed right in her place & I snorted. How powerful must she be?

I pulled my arm & right when I was only a foot from her face, I froze in place.

I blinked with confusion & struggled to move.

My eyes rolled at my idiotic self.

"Idiot. She uses shadows…" I thought angrily at myself. I glanced down at myself & saw my own shadow enveloping me.

"Hahahaha!" Evida laughed happily.

"Such an idiot. Didn't your little friends tell you about me? Such comedy." She snickered. I blinked once more & looked up at her with a blank face.

She stopped snickering & looked at me with confusion.

"Right. exactly." I muttered & sighed.

"Well? What now?" I asked her & she smiled at me. My shadow suddenly grew smaller until it only tied up my wrist.

Great. She's gonna throw me like a rag doll now.

And, as I predicted, she did.

I was suddenly flung to the right & flew through the air, only stopping once I slammed hard against the very rock, hard wall.

And, next, I flung to the left & flew up the air and was quickly pulled down to the ground. Once I hit the ground, my brain just racked against my skull, making me shut my eyes & open them again, just to fix my vision.

"ANIS!" I heard Eric yell & I groaned. I rolled, lying on my stomach & saw the shadow on my wrist was gone. I pulled myself, sitting up & looking at Evida with a tired face.

"Come on girl, give it up. Let's end this petty family grudge shall we? Just let me win and I promise…not to kill you." she said with a closed eyed smile.

I blinked at her & looked up at the sky, keeping my eyes away from the sun.

I froze & blinked.

Getting up, a sigh escaped my lips.

"So? Surrender?" she asked & I looked up at her.

I smirked at her & raised my hand and this time, a vortex of wind floated on my hand. Instead of throwing it to her, I threw it at the ground, making dust fly everywhere around us. I heard Evida coughing & I smirked.

Stealth is my best friend. Back in school, I would always win whenever we play hide & seek.

I strode quietly across the field, using the dust as cover & stopped.

Remembering Eric's lesson of focus & tracking, I chased out the crowds gasps out of my head & kept my head clear.

After a while, I was actually able to hear a heart beating wildly with panic. It was close to where I was & I figured that was Evida. Water formed in my hands & creeped closer to the beating heart.

Once I was in a close enough range, right on cue, the dust cleared & I was face to face with a shocked Evida & whipped out my hand, sending a jet of high speed water to her.

The water tackled her, making her fly back through the air & hit the wall so hard, he actually left a crack.

The crowd went wild & my mouth fell.

I was actually able to do that?! I then felt my feet get pulled towards Evida.

"Darn!" I hissed as my body, slithered across the ground and to Evida who was slowly getting up with a very angry expression.

As I was an inch from her face, seeing her soaked hair & clothes, she glowered at me & I glowered back.

She punched my stomach & I doubled over then growled.

Electricity sparked around me & I was enveloped in a crackling light along with Evida.

"YAAAAAAAAA!" she screamed in pain as she was electrocuted. I on the other hand was completely unharmed. Actually, it felt all right.

I stopped & 'turned off' the electricity. Evida fell to the ground, smoking.

And I stared at her. Thankfully, she was still breathing so, I didn't kill her.

She shakily looked up at me & suddenly, something wrapped around my neck, choking me.

Why does everyone want to choke me?!

"I'll kill you. I hate you." she growled with pure hatred in her voice.

"EVIDA! LET HER GO! EVIDA!" I heard Eric scream at her but she wasn't letting me go. The shadow gripped my neck tighter & she snickered evilly.

"Here I was thinking you would put up more of a fight. Wonder if I should pick on those petty little mortals you hold dear so much." she smiled & I tensed.

"What?" I spat out.

"Hmm, should I send any of my friends to the human world & abduct them? Or better yet…kill them." she smiled wickedly & something in me just snapped.

Anger rose in me & I growled then glowered at Evida. After seeing my expression, she gasped then I felt the grip on my neck disappear.

She was shaking & immediately ran away from me.

"Oh no you don't." I hissed & threw fireballs at her feet.

She screamed like a little girl all the while dodging the flames. Threatening my friends was the biggest mistake she ever made.

She wants me to put up a fight? Well, I'm not really in for fights but, I'll just end this quickly.

I stood at the center of the field & unconsciously pointed at Evida. She froze in place & started panicking like a trapped mouse.

"Evida." I called loudly & she looked up at me with a genuinely scared face.

Walking up to her, I felt the blood in my veins race wildly, pumping my anger.

"Threatening to hurt my friends was horribly wrong." I simply said & punched her face.

She fell to the ground & ice formed in my hands.

"Please…no!" she begged. I stared at her with pity & disbelief then when I was about to put her in an icy cage, I simply gave her a very hard, right hook & she was immediately knocked out, falling quickly to the ground.

"Wow! Evida Corneus is unable to continue! Anis Funtom, winner!" the referee announced & the ground shook from the crowds cheers once again.

I took a breath, loosening my lungs and rubbed my aching hand. Even though it hurt a lot…it was definitely worth it. I turned to the crowd & raised my fist in the air with a smile.

They all cheered for me & even though my body was hurting badly, I still managed to give my mom & dad who were watching me a wide grin.


	17. Running for A Purse & Getting Beaten Up

CHAPTER 17:

"Everybody, give it up for Diamondheart's Anis Funtom!" The referee yelled & the crowd gave me a very loud cheer. I looked around, looking for my teammates when I was suddenly floating in the air.

"Wha?!" I yelped & my eyes darted to Evida, thinking she was the one responsible.

But she was still out cold. Confused, my eyes blinked & I floated up at the safe watching area where my teammates were.

I landed gingerly on the stone floor & Ki glomped me, almost making me fall to the floor.

"Wow! That was awesome Anis!" she squealed. I was about to laugh with embarrassment when my head started to throb. I winced & gingerly massaged my temples.

"Hey, you okay?" I heard Jack ask but it was unclear. I slowly closed my eyes & nodded slowly.

"Yeah. My head's just spinning." I muttered, wilting down the floor & leaning on the cold wall.

"It looks like you still don't have the stamina to fight for long." I heard Eric chuckle.

"Mmm." I simply replied.

"Well, don't worry. A little headache is nothing! Let me take care of this." Ki giggled & I felt something warm on my head. After a second, the splitting pain in my head was slowly disappearing. After a while, I felt fine.

I slowly opened my eyes & blinked.

"You okay now?" Ki asked. I rubbed my head & pulled up my head.

"Mmm, yep. Thanks." I smiled thankfully at Ki.

"And, that's the last battle today!" they announced. "all the participants, please take this chance to rest until tomorrow when the events continue!" the referee announced.

I took a breath of relief. Thank goodness. I wanna go to bed.

Ki pulled me up & we started to walk down the stairs that led to the exits.

While Ki & I were walking hand in hand with Jack in front of us, I realized Eric wasn't here. Right when I was about to turn back to where we were, something gently slid into my right hand.

My head whipped down with alarm & saw a fair, nice hand in mine. Looking up, I saw Eric staring at me with awe. My heart jumped at the warmth of his hand.

"Hey, anis?" Ki called & saw Eric holding my hand. She scowled at Eric while Eric raised his brow in challenge.

"Mind if I borrow Anis, _Ki_?" Eric hissed, his eyes narrowing.

"What if I say I _do_ mind?" Ki hissed back. They had a glaring contest with me right in the middle & I have to say, I really wasn't comfortable.

"Umm, it's okay Ki. I'll be back anyway." I said, giving Ki a small smile. she stared at me with a pout & sighed.

"Fine then." She said & gently let me go. "But! We're having girl chat later kay'?!" Ki said, pointing her finger towards me with a raised brow.

"Yeah." I chuckled & she smiled then went after Jack.

I turned back to Eric with a puzzled expression.

"What?" I asked, blinking at him. But, he simply stared at me. I was going to ask him to spit it out, but my voice just wouldn't work.

I found myself staring right at his glittering, light red eyes. I then studied his face. The perfect arc of his brows, long lashes & perfect lips. How can someone be so real?

Reading Twilight too much must've gotten to my head.

I _badly_ wanted to look away since I could already hear my heart fluttering like a bird.

Eric blinked then slowly approached me. Gently, he rest his right palm on my cheek, letting the temperature of his hand run through my face.

Suddenly, while we stared at each other, he blinked as if waking up out of a trance & gave me a slightly confused & lightly shocked look.

"Hey! Eric!" Natsu's voice called, making the both of us jump in surprise.

After a minute of staring at me, his face turned bright red. He quickly pulled away his hand & I felt utter sadness fill my chest.

"Umm, sorry about that." He muttered, turning his head away from me. I blinked at him & tried awfully hard to keep my lips in a straight line.

Didn't know Eric could be shy too.

"Yeah? What is it?" Eric asked as he turned to the light pink haired wizard.

I turned to Natsu as well, hiding my smile.

"Hey, what're you two doing?" Natsu asked with a teasing grin.

"Nothing. What is it Natsu?" Eric asked, blushing even more.

"I just wanted to talk with you! Gramps is calling you too! Oh, Anis, _Awesome_ battle! You totally kicked that wizards butt!" Natsu yelled happily as he did a fist pump.

"Thanks Natsu." I chucked & Natsu gave me a thumbs up.

"Well Eric, let's go!" Natsu urged as he turned his back, heading to the stairs.

"Fine." Eric sighed but stayed rooted on his place. he then turned to me with sorrowful eyes. I don't know the reason why though.

I tilted my head a bit & he chuckled a bit then walked up to me.

"I guess I'll just see you later. I just wanted to tell you that you did amazing in the battle." He smiled, his eyes glittering.

"Umm, yeah. Thanks." I said, hearing my heart jump. I looked down at the ground, feeling utter happiness as I saw his smile.

I heard him chuckle once more & he raised my chin with his finger, making me look up at him.

"Cute…" he muttered with a mischiveous look. I stared at him & quickly looked away, not knowing how to react to that.

"Umm, I-I'll see you later." I said, my face feeling hot. Darn this cat.

He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, white teeth. "Yup." He said & tenderly kissed the back of my hand. Making me feel dizzy.

While I was busy, trying to keep my balance, Natsu's arm suddenly wrapped around Eric's neck & pulled him away, making Eric trip over his foot.

"Hey!" Eric yelped angrily.

"I said come on lover boy. It's not like you'll be going into another world! hahahaha!" Natsu laughed, making Eric's mouth twitch with irritation.

"Bye Anis!" Natsu yelled as he raced down the stairs, dragging Eric behind him.

Literally. Eric looked like a ragdoll being pulled by a little girl.

I blinked with a dumb founded look on my face & sighed, turning to the stairs.

As I went down the flight of stairs, I kept on staring at my still warm hand. As I saw Eric's face flash in my head, I almost tripped but, thankfully I was able to hold on to the railings.

"Whoa. Grr…stupid cat." I hissed through my teeth, blushing. Once I reached the end of the stairs, I stared out at the sea of people, chattering & going around the city.

Suddenly, my jaw fell. I have no clue where the inn is!

"Ah, damn it…" I muttered as the edge of my mouth twitched. I should've left with Eric & Natsu.

I sighed with exasperation. "Guess I'll just ask for directions." I muttered, scratching the back of my head.

As I wandered aimlessly through the streets, I came past a familiar stand with souvenirs being sold. After that, I passed another familiar stand.

I blinked & studied the street of stands. I suddenly remembered this was the street Ki & I took as we headed to the inn!

"Oh yeah." I muttered, praising myself. As I walked calmly through the streets, a man sped past me, bumping my shoulder really hard, almost making me fall. I saw he carried a bright red purse in his arms.

"My purse! Someone please!" I heard a woman's scream. My brows knit & I sped off, chasing the man.

"HEY!" I shouted as I weaved through the crowd. The man turned to me & to my irritation, gave me an evil smile.

I huffed in annoyance & picked up my pace.

The man ran into a sharp curve, heading into an alley.

"Jeez." I muttered.

As I reached the alley, I skidded to a stop & stared into the slightly dark alley. How cliché.

I slowly walked into the alley, expecting him to jump out & surprise me. But suddenly, the light behind me disappeared & I was encased in darkness.

I gasped & stood in shock. I heard a menacing chuckle somewhere & my eyes darted around the place.

"Hmm, wonder how I should kill you." I heard a raspy voice say.

"Great." I muttered, rolling my eyes. Kill, kill, kill. What is with these people?! why won't they give it a rest?!

"Anis Funtom…I really hate your last name." a voice said.

"Yeah, I know. So, show yourself buddy!" I shouted with irritation.

"And give back that purse! What the hell are you gonna do with that?! Make up?!" I taunted.

Right on cue, I felt the air behind me change & I whirled but instead of giving the man a punch, I was sent flying back.

I hit the wall & I groaned as I fell.

Suddenly, I was encased in something that smelled like burning tires.

I gagged & I felt my lungs sting with sharp pain.

"Augh!" I gasped, clawing the ground for I was losing air.

"Hehehe. How easily done. I thought you would put up more of a fight little phantom?" he chuckled evilly. I growled & blindly sent ice needles flying all over the place.

"Ow! That hurt!" I heard the raspy voice hiss. Suddenly, the air heated up & my skin tingled.

"Die, you little brat!" he yelled. my nostrils burned & I growled, covering my nose as the horrible & painful air wisped past my face.

"Don't even try to breath the air again. one more whiff of this, and you'll die of poisoning." The voice purred.

"I wanna play more so, entertain me!" he yelled & I felt needles pierce through my entire body.

"AAAHH!" I yelled in pain.

"Damn it…" I muttered. Well, I've never felt so stupid in my entire life.


	18. Must,Keep Anger for Enemies,In

CHAPTER 18:

"You're really stupid~. All this stealing business was just a little trap to lure you in." the voice snickered. I grit my teeth as I kept my breath in check. I have to do something about this darkness. I hate dark places.

I growled deeply. I have to fight!

"RAAAAHHH!" I yelled & my stomach clenched as if bracing for a hit. All of a sudden, the air felt lighter & I opened my eyes to see the cloud was gone & the darkness was gone.

As I looked around for the man, I froze to see my whole body was glowing faintly.

I felt the air change next to me & I saw the man. Turns out he was a demon after all. He had a black face with hungry yellow eyes & his sharp toothed mouth foamed.

I glared at him & held my fingers like a gun to his face. He started to glow faintly & he rose off the ground.

"GUUHHH!" he yelped as he glowed brighter.

"Who sent you? Jeez…" I said as I clenched my other fist.

"Stop, please! Spare meeee!" his raspy voice begged. I glowered at him & turned my head to the left. The alley was already open & the dark wall that stopped the light form coming in was gone.

"Tell me first." I said & brought him closer so we were only inches from each other.

"_Who sent you_?" I asked with a glower. He shuddered & stared squirming as he glowed even brighter.

"WAIT! I DON'T KNOW WHO!" he shouted & I knit my brows.

"IN OUR WORLD, PEOPLE WERE SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT A REWARD IF ANYONE KILLS YOU! PLEASE LET ME GOOO!" he quickly said.

I stared at him, surprised by the new information I got. My hand fell along with him. He crawled away from me but I threw ice needles at him & he stuck to the ground.

"You're not leaving yet. Tell all those demons that want to hunt me down…I'll be ready. And don't think it'll be too easy to kill me." I said, looking down at him with a straight face.

"Also…" I trailed off & raised my left hand.

"Kyaaa!" a woman yelled. I slowly looked to the alley's opening & saw a demon wearing a red dress but the demon had the head of a rat.

"You too. Both of you leave…and don't you ever come back here. If you do…" I trailed off & threw the man to the woman, making both of them fall to the ground.

"_I'll send you to hell_." I growled & they shuddered, quickly nodding their heads then scurried out the alley.

But, once they got out into the light with their forms, their head shot to the left & my eyes grew wide as they both fell to the ground, crimson red blood bleeding through their temples.

"What the heck?" I muttered & ran out the alley. Once I got out into the light, to the left, I saw Jack, Ki & Eric standing before me. Eric had his right arm raised & I saw he was holding some kind of gun.

Eric looked up at me with knit brows & worried eyes then hugged me tightly. As he did, I felt a sense of relief & comfort wave through me.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt?" he asked with a panicked tone.

"Yeah. I'm fine. What about those two?" I asked, nodding my head towards the dead demons.

"They're both alley demons. How'd you take care of them?... This kind is generally hard to take down, since they have high defenses." Ki said with eyes filled with shock.

"The guy was hard to take care of but the woman was too stupid to come in the scene right when I was getting really mad." I laughed & they all shuddered at that.

"This is getting way out of hand. How on earth are they able to get in this world?" Eric muttered to himself.

"We have to tell the master." Ki urged. Suddenly, the demon's bodies started to turn into dust & slowly, they melted into the ground.

Right after that, we all rushed somewhere.

"What did they say?" dad asked as he stared out at the window.

Right now, we were at mom & dad's room which was in a very posh hotel.

"One of them said that there was someone saying that they'll give out rewards once they kill me." I said with a blank face. What am I? a pig being hunted down for food?!

Mom knit her brows while dad kept his back to us.

"Darling, could it be Brash again?" mom asked dad & he flinched as a reply.

"Brash? If it is him…" dad trailed off. Suddenly, the air smelled of sulfur & I felt genuinely….scared.

"Brash? Who's that?" Eric asked, standing next to me.

"Brash Oris is the clan's main enemy apart from the Corneus family that is." Dad explained. "He's a _criminal_. He's hurt lots of people & destroyed many guilds in the past." Dad said, clenching his fist.

I sighed & turned my back to them. These 'enemies' are really getting on my nerves. Can I at least take a day without being attacked at a random time?!

"Anis, don't participate in the tournament any more. You too Eric." Dad said making me freeze & turn back to them.

"What?! But-"

"No buts. We'll just tell Skylar & Emi to take your place. It's already too dangerous honey. They're attacking you in broad daylight. And, we don't know where they'll strike next." Mom explained.

I blinked at them & they stared at me.

I sighed. "Fine. But what do we do? Just sit here & do nothing?" I asked.

"Sorry honey. Just for the time being. We have to check this out." dad said & turned to mom. "I'll be going alone." He said and put a black cloak over his shoulders.

"Whoa! Wait, where are you going dad?!" I asked, panicked as he marched towards the door.

"Don't worry Anis." he smiled & once he opened the door, it was pure darkness.

"I'll be back for dinner." He said with his smile still in place & jumped into the darkness, shutting the door behind him.

"Well, since your father's gone, you kids go back to the inn. I'll talk to Skylar & Emi." Mom said as she stood up & left the room while the four of us stood there like we were just pranked.

I heard Eric sigh & I turned to him. Once I saw his eyes, my eyes widened.

Why, you ask?

His eyes weren't bright red anymore. They were an awesome blue. I have to say, it suited him way~ better. May I say, he looked even more gorgeous than before.

He blinked at me, maybe wondering why I'm staring at him like some mental person.

"What?" he asked & Jack and Ki turned to him too.

"Oh! Will you look at that! The spell _totally_ wore off now." Jack said with a grin while patting Eric's shoulder.

"What spell?" I asked, totally confused. Did he get hit by a spell earlier?

"The spell that turned me into a cat. Of course I just chose to have red eyes. just wondered how cool it could be." He snickered as Jack rolled his eyes.

I blinked at him & thought hard. "Wait, don't tell me your hair's going to suddenly turn into another color." I said with wide eyes, making him laugh.

"Don't worry. It's my natural hair color." He smiled.

After seeing his new eyes, my heart fluttered as he smiled. His eyes still shone like stars.

I blinked & whipped my head away, hiding my blush.

"Anyway, let's go back to the inn then." I said, quickly making a get away as I walked ahead of them.

While we were walking to the inn, Ki just wouldn't stop teasing me about earlier.

"Ooooh! You_ like_ Eric!" she giggled & I shushed her since Jack & Eric were only a few meters behind us.

She laughed at my panic & sighed, blushing. "Honestly, Eric is irritating but, you have my support. Does he know?" Ki asked excitedly & I shrugged my shoulders.

"Dunno. Am I _that_ obvious?" I asked, turning to her. She gave me a huge smirk & nodded her head. My head fell as I sighed.

"Hahaha! It's okay Anis! Come on, Eric really likes you too you know?" she said in a teasing tone.

"I think he's just playing with me." I muttered darkly as I felt my face get hot. Stupid cat.

"If that's how it is, he'll be in big trouble." Ki said as she cackled evilly with her fist clenched. I blinked at her with a slightly frightened look.

After that, Ki kept on talking to me about how Eric looks at me and all.

I sighed. "Ki, can we not talk about this?" I asked, a little agitated.

"Heehee, okay. Sorry about that. After Eric kissed your forehead back in the first day here, I just knew you guys were gonna go somewhere. Well, I'll just wait for the next happenings." She giggled & I rolled my eyes.

After a few more minutes, we were nearing the inn. All the things that have been happening have made me very tired. I just wanna lie in bed all day.

We took a turn & after a while, we were already in front of the inn. We headed to our room & once we opened the door, I simply walked in and ignored the other mess Jack & Eric left after their wrestling match (that occurred before the tournament) and plopped onto bed.

I sighed deeply, hugging the pillow. "Bed…" I mumbled with a relaxed tone.

"Hey, is there any food? I'm starved." Jack announced & we heard his stomach growl. We all chuckled & I heard Eric sigh.

"Let's just get some food from the restaurants." Eric said. "What do you girls want?" he asked.

"Oh! I want some rice omelets!" Ki announced.

"Fried chicken…." I muttered.

"Omelet & chicken. Alright, let's go Jack." Eric said, snapping his fingers.

"Aww, seriously mate? We just got here!" Jack yelled angrily.

"Ah, stop complaining. Now come on." Eric said & I heard the door open & quickly close. I sighed & dozed off to sleep.

"Anis, hey…wake up." I heard Eric's voice call. My eyelids slowly raised themselves & as my vision cleared from morning blurry eyes, I saw Eric's angelic face over mine.

I froze, paralyzed & blinked. "Huh?" I asked & he chuckled, smiling crookedly.

"We've bought the food. Get up & eat." he said & sat me up. As I sat up, the delicious aroma of food filled my nostrils.

I gulped my saliva & Eric handed me a plate of chicken. The meat was already picked from the bones & Eric gave me some water too.

"Eat up." he smiled and turned to his food which was a plate of filleted fish. I blinked at the food is saw & suddenly snorted, hiding my laughter.

"What?" he asked as he took a spoon & popped some fish into his mouth. I picked up my spoon & started eating too.

"Seeing fish just reminded me of your…cat form." I giggled. I don't know why, but I just find it really funny seeing Eric eating some fish in his human form. (weird right?)

Eric blinked at me & I smiled at him. He rolled his eyes & tapped the tip of my nose with his finger.

"Whatever. Eat." he ordered & I continued. We all ate happily together, trading stories. All this just reminded me of the times when me & my human friends would eat in the garden.


	19. Fun with A Bucket of Water

CHAPTER 19:

After eating, the boys decided to take a nap. I wanted a nap too but Ki kept on bickering with Eric about leaving the room. Honestly, I wasn't listening to any of it.

I sighed & grabbed my mp3 & headphones then simply walked out the room. They weren't able to see me since Ki & Eric were both facing the balcony & Jack was sleeping and snoring like an idiot.

I know it's a bad idea but, I can defend myself very well, thank you very much.

I decided to go to the pond Ki & I went past before. It was really nice there, plus, the air was cool & breezy.

I was outside the inn now, walking along the stone path while listening to music. I tied up my hair in a ponytail since the wind was blowing my hair up to my face.

As I was walking with my eyes closed, I suddenly heard a girl yelp. My eyes snapped open & I saw two girls.

It looks like they were being harassed by a group of boys. The boys circled the two girls, leaving them cornered against the wall.

"C'mon, why not come have a drink with us?" one guy said.

"I said we don't want to! Now leave us alone!" one girl said, trying to sound brave but her voice broke. All the buys laughed loudly & I glared at the scene.

It looks like some guys are still jerks even in the magical world.

There were a total of 8 guys. I think I can hold up against them. As I was about to walk into the scene, I saw a boy run past me with a big bucket of dirty water in his hands.

"Hey, kid." I called & the boy turned in confusion.

"Huh? me?" he asked, pointing to himself & I nodded.

"Can I borrow that?" I asked nicely, pointing to the bucket & he shrugged his shoulders then gave it to me.

I smiled evilly at myself. I have a _very_ good plan.

Right now I was up at the rooftop of a building and below me were the group of guys. How'd I get up there so fast?

Air control, friend.

"Alright." I grunted as I pulled the bucket of murky water on to the ledge. I fixed the buckets position & aimed at the guys. Just for your information, I've never done this before…that's why it's so exciting.

"HEY! YOU GUYS DOWN THERE!" I yelled. I gained their attention & they looked u pat me with confusion.

"LET GO OF THOSE GIRLS." I ordered. The guys stared at me with disbelief & looked at each other then roared with laughter.

"Oh please! What a joke!" one guy laughed. The edge of my mouth twitched with irritation.

"Help us please!" one girl pleaded & I smiled at her with a salute.

"YOU HEARD HER. LET GO OF THEM…OR ELSE." I said with an innocent smile.

"Or else what? You'll tell on us?" one guy laughed with a teasing girl like voice.

I sighed. "You asked for it." I muttered & got my bucket of horrors ready.

"Better duck!" I called to the girls & they did.

I pulled down the buckets handle, making all the dirty water pour out. Before the stupid jerky guys could get away, they were already covered in dark, wet mud.

"Girls! Run!" I called & they looked up at me with thankful expressions & ran away.

"AUGH! GROSS!" one guys yelled angrily & they exchanged glances then looked up at me with very angry expressions.

"You're dead!" one of them yelled & they charged into the building.

"Uh-oh!" I yelped but I still had a wide smile plastered on my face.

I waited for them to come up here & surprise them later. I looked around & perfect! I saw a wide steel bowl on the corner & I saw a big stone next to it. Since the bowl was partly flattened, I guess some kids were trying to turn it into a Frisbee.

I ran to it & started working on it. After a while, the bowl was now a very heavy steel plate. I half-ran to the door & leaned on the wall next to it with the plate in hand.

Right on cue, I could hear them coming, yelling curse words & scary threats.

"You're a dead kid!" on guy soaked in black mud yelled as he popped out the door.

He blinked in confusion since he didn't see me & froze then turned to me.

"Hi!" I smiled widely & hit his face with the plate.

The plate made a loud BONG sound like a gong as it hit the guy's face & the guy was sent plummeting down back the stairs, taking some of his friends with him.

"Why you!" one guy growled & I yelped then ran for the edge of the rooftop.

As I ran, I could still feel that smile on my face. Never had this much fun before!

I jumped up the ledge & the guys stopped in their tracks.

"What?! You gonna jump?!" one guy wearing a green beanie yelled. I smiled at him with amusement.

"It was nice playing with you! Bye~!" I said as I waved good bye to them. Suddenly, I started to levitate off the concrete a bit & I put my other foot out & once I did, I started to fall.

"WHOA!" they yelled in surprise as I fell from the sky. Before I could hit the ground, I felt the air thicken under me & a few inches before my feet would hit the ground, the dust spread out & my feet slowly and gently floated down the ground.

I exhaled happily & before I could walk away nonchalantly, someone put their hand on my shoulder. I froze & turned to see three of the guys that fell down the stairs right behind me.

I gulped.

"Hi...?" I smiled & pushed my hand out, sending him flying back with air.

"Augh!" they all grunted as they hit the wall. Once they were down, I ran like my life depended on it. I looked back & saw all of them were there now & one of them was pointing at me. They all looked at me & started to follow, running like mad.

"Woah!" I yelped & ran faster. After a few minutes of running, I turned to the wrong way & ended up stopping in front of a cliff that had the ocean at the bottom. I leaned over a bit, (please do not copy this action) and saw the waves crashing on the large rocks.

I panted heavily & turned to see the guys were already a few feet from me.

They stopped, breathless & tired.

"Now…you've nowhere to go." One panted. I glared at him & got into y fighting position. They all oohed in surprise.

"What? With _that_ small body, you're gonna fight all of us?" he asked, spreading his arms, showing how many guys I was up against.

"Are you wizards?" I asked & they all chuckled.

"Oh, we wish." One blurted out. Well, that'll be easier.

Suddenly, I heard a loud BOOM from the left, making me turn instinctively towards the sound & once I did, I felt the hard punch on my face.

I grunted & fell back, falling down the cliff.

That was pretty strong & I could feel myself losing consciousness since the punch racked my brain.

I fell down head first & I wanted to summon wind but it wouldn't work, I was panicking too much.

Before I could hit the water, I heard the guys shouting in panic over the sound of waves crashing. I was finally losing consciousness when I heard a familiar voice yell my name.

"ANIS!" he voice yelled & I crashed into the water, blacking out.


	20. Eric's Confusing Outburst of Anger

CHAPTER 20:

"Anis?...Anis!" I heard Eric's muffled & echoing voice call. I scrunched my brows, groaning at the sound of the voice. Slowly opening my eyes, the image of Eric's face shifted from one face to three, making me shut my eyes & open them again in confusion.

"Anis?" Eric asked with a half surprised & half relieved voice. I groaned in reply.

He sighed with relief & I moved my hand & wondered at the sand under my hands.

After a while, the image of Eric's face cleared & I saw him looking over to the left, his hair dripping wet.

"Jack! There you are." Eric said & I felt the sand shift near me. Someone slipped their hand onto my back, slowly sitting me & I groaned as my head throbbed.

"Anis, are you alright?" I heard Ki's voice ask from my right ear. As I was about to answer, the wind blew a strong gust of cold air, making me freeze.

"It's cold." I muttered. I put my palm to my head & breathed slowly. After a few more minutes, the headache subsided.

"Can you stand?" Jack's voice asked. I nodded as I cleared my throat & Jack gave me his hand, helping me to my feet. Ki wrapped me in a towel, saving me from the chilly ocean air.

"Anis?" Eric called. I turned to him & saw he had his head down, hiding his face and eyes. I stared at him, waiting for what he wanted to say.

"Have you _ever_ fought against that many guys all at once before?" he asked with the low voice. I blinked at him & looked down at the ground. In fact, I've _never_ done that before.

"No…" I replied, slowly shaking my head. I saw Eric's jaw set.

Suddenly, Eric grabbed my shoulders & I jumped from the pressure his hands put on me.

"THEN WHY DID YOU TRY & FIGHT THEM?!" Eric roared angrily. I stared at him, surprised he raised his voice.

"Didn't the thought of calling for help cross your mind?" he snapped at me. I blinked at him. Why is he mad?

"Have you forgotten you're only a girl?" he asked under his breath as he bowed his head down. My brows knit.

"So what if I'm a girl?" I asked, and I could feel anxiety grow inside me. He flinched at my question but stayed silent so, I decided to let my annoyance out.

"What are you getting mad at me for? As far as I know, what I did was the _right_ thing." I snapped.

Honestly, I _really did_ the right thing. Why is he getting all worked up on this?

His head snapped up & he gave me a look of disbelief. Then, he hung his head again, hiding his face away from me once more.

"It looks like you don't know what wrong you did…" he muttered, pulling his hands back from my shoulders. He backed away from us & turned his back, facing the city's small harbor where small boats sat tied up on the tall posts.

I blinked at Eric feeling the scowl on my face.

"Until you know what you did wrong…" he then turned to me with half sad, half angry eyes.

"I don't want to talk to you _at all_." He finished & my jaw partly fell.

What?...How childish!

He turned away from me & suddenly, he was no longer there.

I blinked, gritting my teeth while I felt my hand go numb as I clenched it.

"Fine." I hissed & whirled. I was about to storm back into the city & head back to the inn on my own but once I took the first step to my, dramatic leave, my head throbbed from my spin & I tottered around before falling into Jack's arms.

Jack sighed. "Jeez. C'mon." he said & suddenly, I was on Jack's back.

"Put me down…" I groaned & Jack snorted.

"As if you could walk." Jack scoffed. I heard Ki sigh from behind me.

"Jack, take Anis to the mansion. I'll go find Eric. Who knows where that idiots gone to. Be there in a few minutes." Ki said, making Jack sigh.

"Yeah, yeah." Jack replied & he walked back to the city with me on his back.

As we walked through the city's streets, people gave us concerned stares as they saw me with disheveled hair & sand covered clothes. But, I could care less about their stares.

I huffed, still annoyed at Eric & his sudden burst of anger. I heard Jack chuckle.

"What? Have you reflected on the thing you did wrong?" he asked me & I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously, what did I do? I just helped those girls." I said, pouting with an annoyed face.

Jack sighed. "Jeez, this girl…you really have no clue do you?" he asked, slightly turning his head to me. I blinked at him & he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Find out on your own." He said, turning back his head. I rolled my eyes back at him.

"But, c'mon. Not talking to me? Tch. Didn't know Eric could be that harsh." I said.

Honestly, a part of me was a little sad…

But annoyance dominated that part anyway. Annoyance because I felt he was treating me like a weakling. And, I hate being treated as a defenseless girl.

After a long walk, I noticed we weren't taking the route that led back to the inn.

"Hey, Jack, where the heck do you think you're taking me?" I asked with a raised brow. I knit my brows & gave him a suspicious look.

Just to check, I _repeat_, _just to check_, I slapped Jack's head to the left, making his head tilt violently to the same direction. He slightly lost balance but regained it.

"OI! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" he roared angrily while he ran around in very fast circles with his magic, making me dizzy.

"HEY! Stop! Sorry! I thought you weren't really Jack!" I shouted. Thankfully, he stopped running around like a madman & I sighed with relief.

"Do that again & I'll drop you." he hissed through his teeth.

"Okay. sorry." I said. After a while, we suddenly stopped in front of very large steel gates & behind those gates was a front garden and a very, _very_ large white mansion. It kinda looked like our house back in the human world & it reminded me so much of home.

"Whoa." was all I could get out my mouth. "Who owns this place?" I asked, craning my neck just to see the whole thing.

"It's Skylar's mansion." Jack informed. I blinked & as my eyes slowly retreated from the roof's spiky top, I caught the sigh of the color red on the ground. I looked down & twitched to see we were standing on a red carpet.

I'm not kidding.

From the far left of the front gates to the far right, a red carpet was covering the floor. And might I add, it wasn't a normal floor. It was marble.

I know that rich people use money with cool things, but this is just ridiculously cool.

"This is…too much." I muttered with a dumbfounded expression. "But, what are we doing here anyway?" I asked.

"We'll be staying here til' the tournament ends. Skylar wants us to sleep over at his house." Jack explained. I blinked & hopped off his back since it felt like my balance was back.

"I'm liking this." I muttered to myself.

"I bet you & Eric will be sharing the same room." Jack said teasingly & I growled.

"No thanks." I growled. It looks like I don't want to see Eric for a while either. I stomped ahead of Jack, passing the steel gates. Once I past it, I almost had a heart attack from what I saw.


	21. It's not A House, It's a Palace

CHAPTER 21:

As I walked up the light & polished stone path leading to the mansion's very large front doors, I could sense something coming. I stopped & blinked.

Suddenly, as I was staring at the ground, a huge shadow loomed over me, getting larger & larger. My eyes widened & once I looked up to my left, I almost had a heart attack.

"WAAAOOO~!" I yelped as the giant thing fell on top of me, making me kiss the grass. Literally.

I spat out the grass from my mouth & pulled up my head & turned slightly.

Once I did, I flinched at the sight of a giant white dog. Well, it looked like a wolf really. it had a bushy white tail but at the end of it was color black. It also had drooping ears & a long snout. But to say, he looked like an over grown husky. (which was my type of dog)

But, even though I delight in seeing animals, I really can't breathe.

"Jack…help…me…get him…off…" I muttered weakly raising my shaking hand up in the air as I gasped for oxygen. Jack walked in front of me then simply stared at me.

He crossed his arms in front of him & to my astonishment: he smirked then turned his back on me, heading to the front doors by himself.

The nerve of that guy!

"HEY! YOU JERK! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" I screeched as I squirmed from under the hundred pound animal.

"Now, now Akiri, It's not polite to jump on our guests." I heard a charming voice say. I blinked & turned to the voice. At my right, I saw the figure of a tall person looming over me.

I squinted at him though, thanks to the sunlight blinding me.

"Let me help you." the man said & I heard something fly through the air.

"RUFF!" the dog barked excitedly from atop me then pushed my back running of somewhere.

"Huk!" I grunted since his paw was so heavy on my back.

"HAA~!" I gasped as my cheek fell to the grass. I feel like my insides have been flattened…forever. That damn Jack. I'm gonna get even with him, I swear it.

"Up we go." The voice said & held put his hand to me. I took it & he carefully pulled me up to my feet. Since I was still a little out of air, I stumbled a bit but he caught me.

'Ah, darn. This is embarrassing!' my conscience hissed in my head.

"Ahaha, it looks like Akiri's gained some weight." The guy laughed. I blinked & once the clouds had covered the sun, I saw his face.

He had a fair complexion & he had shining silver hair that was until his shoulders. His eyes also glimmered with the same color behind his glasses.

He gave me a warm smile.

"Sorry about Akiri. Although, I didn't expect him to get off you so quickly." He said thoughtfully as I pulled myself away, getting the grass out my hair.

What is he saying?! Did he mean that dog could've stayed _longer_ on top of me?! Thank Kami he came to help me. Unlike some orange haired clown.

"Umm, thanks for helping me." I said with a sheepish smile as I scratched my head, embarrassed.

He gave me another warm smile. "No problem. You _are_ a guest of honor." He said with a charming voice.

I noticed he was a very fashionable guy. I liked his taste. He wore black skinny jeans along with slippers. [Well, at least he wore some footwear.]

And as a top, he wore a long sleeved, cream colored sweater that hid half the back of his hands.

"Anyway…" he trailed off & held out his hand to me. "My name's Grove Quinn. It's nice to meet you…Ms. Anis Funtom." he smiled. I blinked & smiled back.

"Nice to meet you. But, how do you know my name?" I asked as we shook hands.

"Well, Master Elizabeth informed me that Emi & Skylar were to take both you & Eric's place in the tournament. Your mother was also the one that suggested you guys stay in our house until the tournament ends." He explained.

"Oh." Was all I could say. Well, what should I say?!

"Tch. Will you two hurry up! Where's my room?" we heard Jack call. We both turned to the doors & the edge of my mouth twitched as I saw him leaning casually on the giant marble pillars, cleaning his nails with his other nail.

I glared at him. That jerk.

He was there all this time & didn't bother to lift a finger to help me. Seriously, if I were an anime, fire would be going wild around me right now.

Grove & I both walked up to him & since I was meeting someone new, I couldn't show my bad temper just yet.

Once we reached Jack, to my surprise, Grove suddenly hit Jack's head with such force, Jack's head violently lashed out to the side. I perked my brow, satisfied to see Jack get hit.

"Ouch! That hurt man!" Jack complained & Grove grabbed Jack by the ear making Jack whine like a little puppy.

"How dare you leave a girl like that? Why don't you learn some manners?" Grove hissed as Jack practically wilted down the floor.

"OWOWOW!" was all Jack said as Grove let go of his ear. Jack whimpered & massaged his now red ear.

Grove sighed. "Ah, come on now. I'll lead you to your rooms. Hope you do find this place comfortable." He said & pushed open the giant mahogany doors.

What I saw made my mouth fall. Seriously.

To be blunt, it looked like a castle inside. The place was complete with giant stone pillars lined on each side & a very long velvet carpet flowed in front of us.

"Oi, this place looks smaller than before. Did Emi finally crack?" Jack snickered as Grove sighed. My eyes grew wide.

'You're kidding. _Smaller_?' I thought. Suddenly, the two guys turned back to me since they were both in front of me & exchanged glances.

Suddenly, Grove chuckled at me while Jack rolled his eyes. "C'mon girlie, don't tell me you're too shocked. You have a big mansion back in the human world too right?" Jack asked & I flinched.

I covered my mouth with my hands. I just blurted out what I was thinking. Darn, I hate it when I do that.

"Anyway, yeah. Emi just kept on getting lost whenever he headed to his own room. Hahaha, so, he finally snapped & had the place renovated. Actually, Skylar had a little tantrum because of that." Grove informed as we climbed up the gigantic marble staircase leading to the second floor.

"Where are they anyway?" jack asked as we turned right.

"Emi's at the stables but Skylar's busy." Grove said with a smirk. "But, where are Eric & Ki?" Grove asked with a thoughtful look.

"Tch. Eric's throwing out a tantrum because of what happened between him & this girl." Jack sighed, nodding his head toward me. I flinched & scowled at him.

"Oh. A Lover's quarrel eh?" Grove snickered & the edge of my mouth twitched as I felt my face get hot.

"No. he's just acting like a real child." I hissed through my teeth. Grove laughed loudly.

"I like this girl. She has a lot of spark in her!" he exclaimed as we stopped in front of a mahogany door that had the guild's insignia carved on it.

"Here's your room Anis." Grove said & turned the doorknob, revealing a very nice room.

Inside, was a queen sized bed with clean, white blankets & a carpet covered the whole floor. I walked inside & delighted from the carpets softness.

The place was really like a dream to me. The bathroom was totally posh along with the high-tech gadgets around like the plasma TV, sound system & DVD player which had piles of DVD's on top of it. As I explored even more, I saw it also had a balcony that overlooked a vast glittering lake.

"Actually this was Skylar's room but since he's out on a mission, you can use it until he gets back." Grove said, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Skylar?" I asked. I think that was the person mom was talking about. So was that Emi person.

"Ah, he's my younger brother. But, we don't look alike that much." Grove smiled sheepishly.

"Skylar's our third teammate actually but since Eric had to go to the human world alone, the three of us separated & Skylar got teamed up with Emi while I got stuck with Ki." Jack groaned.

Now I feel guilty. It's because of me that they split up…great.

I looked away from them, trying to hide my guilt.

"Don't feel bad though." Jack added. I blinked & turned back to him with a little shock.

He had his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned on the doorway, averting his eyes from me. "It's alright anyway since I was getting tired of Skylar's annoying pranks." Jack said with pink tinged cheeks. I blinked at him once more & found myself grinning.

Jack actually had a nice side too.

"Well, I'll fix us some snacks. Your room's opposite of this room Jack." Grove said as he & Jack left the room.

I sighed & plopped onto the soft bed, burying my chin into the pillow. I suddenly ended up thinking about Eric & his sudden burst of anger. As I was thinking, it suddenly occurred to me.


	22. A Wild Goose Chase

CHAPTER 22:

My eyes grew wide with realization. Eric _did_ ask me if I ever fought with that much people at the same time & when I said no, he got really mad…

I can't believe I was such an idiot.

Eric got mad cause'….I _worried_ him. I blinked & sighed.

"Tch. I'm a horrible person." I muttered to myself & curled up into a ball. Well, it does make sense, since I fell from a cliff.

Maybe my pride got in the way of thinking. I shut my eyes & cringed as the pain in my chest grew. I have to apologize to Eric. Right now.

I got out of bed & checked the clock sitting on the side table. It was 6:30 pm already. Wonder if Eric & Ki are here yet.

I suddenly remembered that I hadn't taken a bath yet. I know, yuck. But seriously! I was too engrossed in thinking about Eric…

Wait…that didn't come out right.

After taking a bath & going out the shower…I noticed I didn't have any idea where my clothes were. My jaw fell as I mentally cursed myself.

"Oh no!" I cried.

"Anis?" I heard Grove call & my eyes widened.

"No! Don't come in! I'm not…dressed!" I shouted as I heard his footsteps. Suddenly, he stopped.

"Oh okay. Well, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice sounding closer.

"Umm…do you have any idea where my backpack is?" I asked, my face feeling hotter than a sauna room. Darn it! This is soooo embarrassing!

"Your backpack? Just a sec." he said & I heard him move around the room.

I wrapped myself in a towel & stood behind the door.

"Anis…umm…bad news." I heard Grove say from the other side of the door & my eyes widened. I groaned then face palmed.

"Don't tell me, the bags aren't there?" I asked.

"Yeah." He replied & I whimpered.

I heard Grove sigh. "I have an idea." He said.

After all that, I came out the showers wearing Grove's clothes. Honestly, they would be completely comfortable if only the jogging pants didn't keep falling off. But other than that, I liked the sweater even though it was too big & covered my hands.

"Sorry. We don't have any girl clothes around here." Grove apologized with a sheepish smile.

"Ah, it's fine. It's better than staying in the bathroom all day anyway." I snickered. He patted my head & gave a warm smile.

"Anyway, Eric & Ki are back." he informed & I froze. My face felt hot all of a sudden as the feeling of guilt poured back into me. I stared down at the carpet.

We stayed quiet for a while & Grove patted my head again. "He told me what happened. Honestly, what you did was too reckless." He said & I flinched as his words stung me.

"I know. I'm so stupid just to realize that I worried him them too much." I said as I clenched my fist.

"It's a good thing you realized. Next time remember not to bite off more than you can chew." He lectured & I sighed, nodding my head.

"Yeah." I replied & he pulled his hand away.

"Well, Eric's in his room. He's rooming with Jack actually so, go talk to him when you're ready okay?" he informed as he walked to my door.

"Thanks, Grove." I smiled. He turned back to me with a smile & went out my room, closing the door. I sat on the bed.

Suddenly, the door flew open, making me slightly jump.

"Hi Anis!" Ki squealed happily as she walked into my room carrying her bag along with my white backpack.

"My things!" I cried as she threw my backpack to me.

"It's a good thing we remembered all our bags were still in the inn." Ki sighed as she shook her head with embarrassment.

"Anyway, where'd you get your clothes?" she asked as she pointed at the sweater.

"Oh, Grove lent them to me for now." I said with a sheepish smile.

"Oh. Well, it's a good thing Grove was around to help you." she smiled & she sat on my bed. "He also said we should room together." She giggled.

"Well, It's a good thing I have someone to talk to now." I smiled excitedly. Ki giggled as well & we fixed our things.

"Oh! Anis." she called & I closed the drawer with my clothes inside.

"Yeah?" I replied as I fixed my clothes into the drawer.

"About earlier in the beach." She reminded & I froze. That's right.

"Sorry about that. I'm so stupid to just realize now. I'm real sorry I worried you guys." I apologized.

"You_ did_ almost give me a heart attack. Seeing you just lying on the sand…breathing weakly made me really frightened." She confessed & I turned to her. She was staring down at the blankets with a sad expression then looked up at me.

"Please _never_ do that again." she asked & I stared at her then nodded.

"Mm." I replied then turned back to the drawers.

"So, Anis." Ki called from behind me.

"Hm" I asked & before I could turn to her, she started pushing me out the door.

"Hey! What?! What is it?" I asked with surprise & confusion as she threw me out the hallway.

"Okay. Eric & Jack are sleeping in the same room. Talk to Eric. Now, since you already know what you did to make him so angry, talk to him. I _will not _let you in until you two make up. Got it?" she stated with a smile then slammed the door, locking it in the process.

My jaw fell & I sighed.

Well, it's now or never.

I walked up to the boys' door & as I was about to knock, the door opened.

I blinked & froze to see Eric right in front of me. His black hair dripping wet while a towel hung over his shoulder. He was wearing a sleeveless white tee now & black jogging pants it was a little hard to concentrate seeing his muscular arms.

"Umm…" was all I could say as I hung my head & clasped my hands together.

"I'm-" I was about to say sorry but, when I looked up, Eric was gone.

I blinked & looked around then twitched to see Eric, nonchalantly walking away and heading to the stairs.

My jaw fell. Why that little-!

I ground my teeth angrily & resisted the urge to punch the wall. Right when I was about to say sorry!

I exhaled sharply then chased him.

While I ran toward him, he turned with surprise & his eyes widened to see me running towards him. Maybe I had a bad expression so he looked a little frightened. And to my surprise & disbelief, he ran but instead of heading down the stairs, he ran through the long hallway.

"HEY! ERIC! WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GOING?!" I screeched but he ignored me & turned a sharp right.

I panted & growled turning to the same hallway. This time at the far end, there were large double doors which were painted gold & Eric was heading for them.

"HEY HOLD ON!" I yelled, stretching my hand out to Eric since I was right on his heels. But before I could grab him, he went in the room, shutting the door behind him. My eyes widened & I hit the door with my nose.

"OW!" I cried & rubbed my nose. I growled, even angrier now & an anime vein popped in my head.

"GRRR...ERIC!" I yelled & kicked the doors open. What I saw made me lose my ability to speak.

It was a gigantic library. Bookshelves were everywhere & the place glittered before my eyes.

"Whoa." I muttered & froze. I shook my head back & fourth. Eric, right. Gonna get him.

"Eric! Where are you! Quit hiding will you?!" I yelled and my voice echoed through the room. I walked around the place & saw a flash of white in the corner of my eye. I turned to the left & saw Eric tip toeing behind the large bookshelves.

What a child. He's so gonna pay for turning this into a goose chase.

Wait! I should be looking to apologize to him! Well, it _is_ his fault for walking away from me.

I took on the usual way I would walk. It was okay since I'm as quiet as a cat. I walked ahead to the bookshelves before Eric & hid behind them, waiting for Eric to arrive.

Suddenly, I saw the side of Eric's face. He was looking behind him.

Hehe, wrong way to look.

I grabbed him & pulled him down the floor, pinning him down to the carpeted floor. He stared at me with nervous eyes as I glared at him.

"You-" I hissed & hung my head then got off him, sitting on the floor next to him.

"I'm sorry. I get it now. Why you're mad at me. I'm really sorry, I only realized now." I said, petting the soft carpet. He was silent & suddenly & I heard him sigh.

He pulled up my chin making me look up at him & my face felt hot as I saw his ocean blue eyes. He stared at me then smiled widely & I felt his lips on my forehead.

I froze.

"Finally. You realized. You have any idea how hard it was to ignore you?" he asked then caressed my cheek.

I hung my head, my face feeling hotter than ever.

"Don't ever do something like that again. Okay?" he asked as he held my face with both his hands.

I nodded once, unable to look him in the eye. I heard him chuckle & he kissed the tip of my nose.

I thought it would end there but, it didn't.

He then kissed my forehead, then my right cheek, my left, then my right eyelid then my left. Once he was done, I felt like turning into a puddle. He chuckled at me.

"Okay, I forgive you. And those 'gestures' are my forgiveness." He said with a mischievous crooked smile. He got up & then since I was too paralyzed, I stayed on the floor. He sighed & suddenly, I was in his arms.

"Whoa! Hey!" I shouted as we walked to the doors.

"Can't walk? Was I too much of an expert?" he winked with a mischievous crooked smile & thanks to that, my face felt hot again.

"Shut up." I muttered & he laughed again as we walked out the library.


	23. Back to Illusions

CHAPTER 23:

As we walked down the very long hallway, I let out a breath that loosened my lungs. I still keep replaying that moment over & over again. Stu~pid cat!

I kept my eyes on the carpet since I didn't want to look up at Eric. I was totally still in his arms, my body stiff from all that kissing he did.

Argh! Enough! I need to keep my mind off him, darn it! I decided to think about my progress in magic this time.

It seems I haven't trained yet plus, there _is_ that thing about our family's enemies.

I wonder…will they ever attack my mortal friends? After thinking about that, I'm feeling very uneasy.

"Anis?" Eric asked & I blinked with surprise, looking up at him. He looked down at me with bright & wondering eyes.

"Huh?" I asked. He rolled his eyes at me.

"What were you thinking about? You looked…worried." He said while we walked through the hallway. I blinked at him & once I looked at his eyes, I felt my heart tighten.

I quickly looked away, distracting myself & as I looked around, I realized we were walking through the same hallway that leads to the library. I could recognize the potted plants on the sides of the hallway.

"Eric? Are we heading back to the library?" I asked, alarmed & looked up at him with confusion. He kept his eyes at me & raised his brow.

"What are you talking about? We're already at the-" He said as he looked up but froze once he saw the hallway.

"Wha-huh?" he muttered as he stopped in his tracks. I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Don't tell me you were to engrossed in walking?" I asked & he rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't heading to the library. I wanted to go downstairs." He said, looking around. I jumped off him & looked around as well. It seemed we were lost but…I felt too nervous & uneasy.

"Eric…do you think we're simply lost or…there's someone else here…someone who doesn't like us?" I asked as I turned to him. His brows knit together & suddenly, I heard a loud screech.

I jumped & my eyes darted everywhere. After a second…that eerie song started again; the first thing I heard the day all this magic stuff started.

"Eric! This…" I said as Eric grasped me, keeping me in his arms.

"It's them. The Seven phantoms." Eric hissed as the screeching song echoed the hallways.

"Seven phantoms? What's that? I thought this was simply a Coor?" I asked & Eric took a deep breath as his right scythe materialized on his hand.

Suddenly, the room started to darken, just like before but I was even more terrified since_ both_ ends of the hallway darkened.

I forgot to mention, I'm afraid of the dark as well.

I know it's childish but wouldn't you be scared if something suddenly pops out from there?

Eric held me tighter & growled.

"_O, light from the heavens, Light thy path…"_ Eric muttered & suddenly, a ball of light glowed in his hands.

I watched, wide-eyed as the ball of light floated up the air & exploded, lighting up the room again. But, this time, the hallway didn't seem to end.

Great. An illusion. Again.

"ERIC! ANIS!" we heard Jack yell, but it was far away.

"_Eric…_" I heard an echoing voice whisper. My head whipped around as my body stiffened.

"Who's-Emi? Is that you?" Eric asked as he looked around, tightening his hug around me.

"_Yeah. It seems there's an intruder in the mansion. I'm in the stables but I can't get in the mansion. There's a barrier around it._" the voice said.

"Who's that?" I asked Eric & he looked down at me with a gentle smile.

"Don't worry; he's a friend of ours. His name's Emi." Eric said.

"_It's nice to meet you Anis._" Emi greeted. His voice had a nice ring to it & I felt a little relieved hearing him.

"Anyway, Emi, Are Jack & the others with you?" Eric asked.

"_No. I think they're still in the mansion. Hold on."_ Emi said & his voice fell silent.

"**Emi? You still there**?" I heard Grove's echoing voice ask this time.

"_**Grove? Where are you guys? Where's Anis?!"**_ I heard Ki's voice cry worriedly.

"Will you two be quiet? It's irritating to hear two voices at once." I suspect that's Jack.

"You guys. This is Eric. Anis is with me." Eric said.

"_**Oh, good. So, now what should we do?"**_ Ki asked.

"Well, I think Anis & I are in an illusion. I'll try & find the culprit." Eric said a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"_**Anis! Are you okay there?!**_" Ki cried worriedly.

"Yeah, don't worry Ki." I replied.

"Grove, do you see how many intruders are there?" Eric asked as his left scythe slid out his arm & hand.

"**Just a minute…there're only 2. One's near you guys & the other one's…what the…"** Grove muttered.

"_Grove? What's going on?_" Emi asked this time.

"**The other one disappeared. I can't trace his aura anymore."** Grove replied.

"Well, it's either he's gone or he wants to play hide & seek with us. Actually, I can't get out the hallways. I just end up in the same place." Jack said & clicked his tongue with annoyance.

"_**Yeah, me too."**_ Ki agreed.

"**I think we all are. Except for Emi that is**." Grove added.

"_**Well, what do we do?"**_ Ki's voice asked with frustration.

"I'll try to cut the illusion holding Anis & me in." Eric said.

Suddenly, Eric raised his hand & snapped his fingers, sending yellow sparks snaking around the hallways.

As the sparks dispersed around the place & disappearing in the distance, Eric put his hand down.

We both stared at the never ending hallway but nothing changed.

"What? It's not working." Eric muttered with confusion, his brows knitting together. Suddenly, small red sparks blinked around Eric.

"Eric!" I yelled in alarm & Eric's eyes widened.

Right then, Eric pushed me away from him & I heard a deafening crackling sound.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Eric howled in pain as he was electrocuted by the red cloud of electricity enveloped his entire body, the red cloud crackling notoriously right before my eyes.

"ERIC!" I screamed & the red cloud of electricity stopped, leaving Eric's clothes singed & burnt.

Eric groaned & fell to the floor.

"ERIC!" I yelled once more & ran to him as he pulled himself up.

"**Anis! What happened?! Are you guys okay?!"** Grove's voice shouted with anxiety.

"Eric…" I muttered shakily as I put my hand on his back but quickly pulled it away since his temperature was _beyond_ hot and burned my hand.

"Anis…are you…unhurt?" Eric muttered weakly, his body shaking as his body smoked.

"Will you worry about yourself?! You're…" I muttered as I felt the pain in my chest. Seeing Eric like this was…unbearable.

Eric chuckled a bit. "As long as you're okay, I am as well." he panted & his head fell on my lap.

"Guys…don't try the releasing spell. It won't work. You'll be electrocuted." Eric said & groaned in pain.

"**You were electrocuted?! Keep still Eric. There would still be electricity in you**." Grove said.

"Darn it. How do we get out of this stupid illusion then?!" Jack growled, infuriated.

"Urgh…I can't move." Eric suddenly said making me freeze.

My heart stopped & I started to panic. With that kind of electricity, I wouldn't be surprised. It could be possible that his organs could even be burned. If the electricity still coursed through his body for a few more seconds, it could've reached his heart & stopped it.

I have to do something. Involuntarily, I put my hand to his chest & the thought of healing him myself stayed stamped in my mind. Suddenly, my palm glowed a gentle blue & Eric groaned once more.

"_Anis, keep going. You're already healing him. Keep going."_ Emi urged & I did.

I could feel Eric's breath loosen & his heart beat slow down into a regular beat & I could feel his relief.

I pulled away my hand & Eric let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Anis." He said & looked up at me with a smiling face then put his hand to my cheek.

I held his hand & smiled back. "Glad I could help." I grinned.

"Oi. Stop being so lovey-dovey you two. We still can't get out this illusion!" Jack's voice shouted & I rolled my eyes.

"**The barrier."** Grove suddenly said making both me & Eric freeze.

"**It's the barrier. We have to destroy it**." Grove explained.

"How?" I asked as Eric sat up.

"I'll do it." Emi's voice suddenly said.

"**Good. The barrier's the one holding up the illusions. Until we destroy it, we won't be able to free ourselves**." Grove said.

"Won't Emi get hurt as well?" I asked.

"_Nope. I have...ways. So don't worry Anis_." Emi assured.

Well, he better be okay. If we don't get out of this, I won't be able to give the Phantom whatevers a good beating.


	24. Marionette:The Irritating Illusionist

CHAPTER 24:

"_Okay, I'll be doing the spell now. Everyone, once it gets dark, just stay in your place._" Emi informed.

"Yeah." Grove replied.

Once Emi grew silent, the light around us started to disappear & fear grew in me as the dark started to envelope Eric & me. As the darkness overwhelmed us, my body grew stiff & I found it hard to breath.

I hugged my arms, a gesture I realized I would make whenever I'm frightened. Suddenly, something wrapped around my waist & I realized it was only Eric.

I released my breath, relieved.

"Anis, it's okay, don't be scared. I'm right here." Eric said as he pulled me right next to him. Obviously, feeling his breath near my face, made my heart go into a running speed & I found it harder to breath.

Really, I was never good at being with boys, except Hikaru that is. Suddenly, Eric wrapped both his arms around me & I felt his chin on my shoulder. So he must've been behind me.

"Ooooh~ how sweet!" a voice chuckled making Eric stiffen.

"Hmhahaha…you guys are very lucky since you have that little _brat_ outside the barrier to help you out." the voice said. But this time, my spine tingled since the voice was too, low & simply frightening.

Imagine hearing a giant. That's how the voice sounds like. As he spoke, I could feel the air around us get hotter & I'll say, it felt really uncomfortable.

"Eric?! Who is that?!" Jack's voice echoed.

I heard a growl come from Eric's throat. "Marionette." Eric hissed through his teeth & hugged me tighter. After hearing that, Jack fell silent.

"Hehehe…I'm flattered you remember me Wolfe." The low voice chuckled. Suddenly, the light returned to the hallways.

I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the light & felt a sense of relief when I saw the hallway was shorter now & I could see the end of it.

Eric stood up, still a little shaky so I helped him up.

"Marionette, what are you Phantoms trying to do? Attacking us so suddenly." Eric growled as his scythes slid out his right arm.

So this guy's apart of the Seven phantoms.

"Urk." He winced & his scythes immediately disappeared.

"Ah,ah,ah, sorry Wolfe, since you were electrocuted by my magic loop, you won't be able to use your powers for a bit. Hahaha…" Marionette chuckled.

Marionette…isn't that supposed to be a doll?...I always hated dolls.

"Shut up." Eric growled deeply as he glared at the ceiling.

"What do you want Marionette? Answer us." Grove hissed. Marionette's voice chuckled again.

"I don't really want to tell you yet. I'll give you guys a head start. Why not meet each other outside the mansion & I'll have some fun with you Diamondheart brats. We'll talk later okay?" He laughed & the air felt normal again.

The edge of my mouth twitched with irritation. Good God, these villains.

"C'mon Anis. Let's move." Eric urged & tried to stand up. But once he propped himself on his right leg, he immediately fell back.

"Eric!" I cried & grit my teeth. Darn it. He's still too weak.

While I was trying to think of a way to get Eric moving, I heard that screech again.

"CRAAAAA~!"

I stiffened at the horrible sound & turned my head to the left of the hallway & saw A Coor, with a muscular build, standing on its two scaly & horribly clawed feet.

It looked like the same Coor I encountered for the first time; a black dinosaur (pteranodon-yeah, I'm a dinosaur geek.) with folded wings & a long beak with sharp teeth poking out & it had a very long crest on its head.

"Anis, run!" Eric groaned & my jaw fell at him.

"What?! _No_!" I yelled back & Eric rolled his eyes with exasperation.

"Excuse me Eric, but I can still fight." I said & stood up, dragging Eric to the wall.

"ANIS!" Eric yelled but I ignored him & turned to the Coor.

It narrowed its glowing red eyes at me & I heard the dinosaur growl. As I glared at it, black wisps of smoke seemed to come of it, enveloping it with a menacing aura.

"CAAA~!" It screeched, flapping its large wings. (Yeah, the hallway's that wide.)

"YAAA~!" I yelled back, flapping my arms. I heard Eric chuckle at me & I smiled at myself.

Bring it on you naked bird.

Suddenly, the Coor did something I never expected, once it opened its large beak, it took a breath & roared out-get this- _fire_.

"WOAH!" I yelped & ducked down before I got roasted.

Once the fire was out, I whipped up my head & saw the Coor charging to me.

"ANIS!" Eric shouted & right when I was about to summon water to the Coor, an orange jet flew past me, tackling the Coor & making it hit the wall with such force, the Coor actually went through the cement wall.

"Wha-" I muttered & froze to see Jack right in front of me. Right now he was wearing black pants & an orange 'Happy Halloween' sleeveless top also, along with all that he had black arm warmers.

Hmm, so he has style after all.

It occurred to me that he had a change of hairstyle too. His hair was longer & it was held up in a high ponytail with long bangs in his face, parted so you could still see his irritating face.

"Oi! Girlie, don't' just freeze up like that! If you had an injured person with you, you need to protect them!" he lectured. The edge of my mouth twitched with annoyance.

"Oh give me a break." I muttered as I rolled my eyes & stood up.

"You took long enough Jack." Eric said from the side. We both turned to him & saw he was trying to get on his feet. I ran to Eric & helped him up, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Oh, don't blame me. I was fixing up myself." Jack smiled, waving his hand around. I rolled my eyes along with Eric.

"Where are the Grove & Ki?" I asked.

"Dunno. But they must be heading out right now." Jack replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Eric…Jack…Anis…" I heard Emi's voice echo.

"I can hear Emi's haunting voice." Jack chuckled. Weirdo.

"Shut up Jack." Emi hissed making jack snicker.

"Anyway, Emi, are you still outside?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. And right now, I could use some help. Coors are coming in from every direction! Ugh!" emi's voice grunted.

"What?! Where are Ki & Grove?" Eric asked with worried eyes.

"They're-ah, they're here. Just arrived actually." Emi said with relief. Suddenly, I heard a loud BOOM! Come from outside, slightly shaking the mansion.

"Hey, you three! We need your help out here!" Grove's voice shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, we're comin'." Jack said, waving his hand & snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, a big orange tiger that was as tall as me appeared right in front of my eyes.

My eyes widened & I involuntarily backed away from the cat.

"Alright, get on you two." Jack ordered as he patted the cat's side.

"Not this again." Eric groaned but Jack ignored him & the tiger crouched down as Jack threw Eric to the cat's back.

"You too, girlie." He said & held his hand out to me. I took his hand & sat upfront with Eric & Jack sitting behind me. I grinned excitedly & petted the tiger's large head. It purred happily & I snickered.

It's been forever a dream of mine to ride a tiger.

Magic is just simply _awesome_!

"Let's go!" Jack yelled & the tiger sucked in a breath.

"ROOOOAAAR!" the tiger roared, baring its huge fangs as we galloped down the hallway.


	25. Dino & Puppeteer have A Quarrel

CHAPTER 25:

"Okay, so, Marionette is here but, who's the other one? Grove said there were two of them." Jack said as we galloped down the stairs.

"I don't know. Maybe he already left everything to Marionette." Eric wondered. It looked like his strength was coming back.

"Who's this, Marionette anyway?" I asked.

"Marionette is a part of the Seven Phantoms. He manipulates Coors & uses illusions to confuse his opponents, and then finish them off." Jack explained.

"We have a bad history with the Seven Phantoms. They've tied to eradicate our guild many times but, of course, they still can't find a way to bring us down." Eric added.

"But, what does that guy want?" I asked once more.

"We don't know." Eric said with a stiff tone. I blinked at him. I just hope this isn't because of me again.

After a while, we were already at the lower floor of the mansion & just to make a dramatic entrance as Jack said, our tiger jumped the double doors, roaring & landing on one Coor.

Once we were already out, I froze as I saw the large number of Coors circling the dark, slightly red skies.

I looked ahead of us and saw Grove & Ki fighting the Coors, back to back.

It was my first time seeing Grove fight with magic so, I stared at him with awe as he sent a flurry of leaves to one Coor, tackling it & making it float up the air then explode into fine powder.

Ki was also looking cool as she fought too.

Right now she was wearing red pants with waves of fire printed on it & she wore a sleeveless hoodie that showed her arm which bore the guilds insignia. In both hands, she had long katanas that were bathed in fire.

And the most outrageous of all was her hair.

Instead of her normal blue hair, she now had red pixie hair that was pointing everywhere-as wild as fire. She sliced two Coor at the same time & sliced the air with her katana, sending a wave of fire to all the Coors on her side.

"Whoa." I muttered, seeing the awesome battle scene before me.

Our tiger roared & charged into the fight, almost making the three of us fall off since he jumped in the fight with too much speed.

"YEEHA!" Jack shouted merrily as our tiger slashed Coors with its sharp claws & bit one into half.

"Guys!" Ki cried happily as she kicked one Coor's beak, making it bite it's gross & long tongue.

"Having fun are we?" I asked with a grin & at the corner of my eye, I saw a Coor flying toward us with its claws bared.

"CAAA!" It screeched & before it could attack us, I held out my hand & the Coor burst into flames.

"Nice one!" Grove laughed & I smiled back, jumping off the tiger.

"Where's Emi?" Eric asked as he carefully climbed down the tiger.

"Behind the mansion. He's taking care of the…bigger trouble." Grove said & he sent a tornado of cherry blossoms to a Coor's agape mouth, making it blow up into a huge ball & explode into cherry blossoms.

After one last swipe of her sword, Ki sent of another wave of fire, turning the remaining Coor to dust.

"Alright. We're done here. Now, let's go help Emi." Eric said.

"Eric, I think you should stay here. Can you already move?" Grove asked & we all turned to Eric who was totally haggard & had burn holes all over his clothes.

"Yeah. I can move." Eric said and walked straight to the back of the mansion. He was still a little wobbly but, at least he's walking. We gave each other glances & went after Eric.

It took as a fairly long time to get to the back of the place since the place was so big.

Once we got there, we saw a guy about my age with messy, short midnight hair standing before a very big black dinosaur. But, this time, it wasn't a Pteranodon.

This time, it was a pure black .

"Is that Emi?" Jack asked, pointing at the guy in front of the dinosaur. The boy wore black pants, a white long sleeved, collared shirt along with a black vest. What I really liked most were his leather, pirate boots though.

Suddenly, when Jack was about to charge into the fight to help Emi, Grove stopped him with his hand.

"No need. Emi can handle this." Grove said with a smirk. I turned back to Emi & my jaw fell to see the sight before my eyes.

Emi was now holding a long white staff & on his other hand, he held a pure, golden ball that sparkled like fireworks. As the dinosaur saw the white ball, it hissed baring its huge, sharp teeth at Emi & roared in outrage.

Before Emi could get eaten, Emi snapped whipped out his arms & the dino stopped in its tracks, its mouth already agape over Emi's head.

I yelped but what happened next surprised me. The air around us suddenly felt colder & I saw a vortex of blue smoke whirl around the dinosaur.

The looked around itself in confusion, snapping at the wisps of blue smoke & clawing at it with its tiny arms.

The dino roared in anger & lunged Emi with open jaws. But before it could come close to eating Emi, Emi threw the white ball into the dino's mouth.

The shut its toothy jaw with confusion about what it ate & blinked its red eyes.

Suddenly, its body started to smoke & the ground beneath us shook as we heard a rumbling noise. Right before us, a blue circle glowed in the grass, the light shining at the dino's face as it glowed around the .

"Looks like Emi wants a new pet." Ki giggled. I raised my brow at her comment.

A pet?

Once I looked back at the dinosaur, Emi pointed his staff at its face & the circle's light grew more intensely. The dinosaur roared in outrage & my eyes widened as the dinosaur started to shrink, smaller and smaller, until it was shorter than my knees.

"Great job Emi." Grove congratulated, clapping his hands as we walked towards the raven haired boy.

Emi turned to us & I saw he had ocean blue eyes like Eric (but Eric's were more…glittery.) & he had such a flawless face. And since his hair was really messy & it looked like he had cat ears, I couldn't help but raise my brow at him.

'_Hasn't this kid ever heard about a brush?_' I thought to myself.

"Anis, since you haven't formally met, this is Emi Thorne." Eric introduced, patting Emi's shoulder.

Emi's gave me a close-eyed smile. "Hello Anis. It's great meeting Master Ciel's daughter." He said & we shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you too." I said, a little awkwardly.

"Alright, alright. Now that you guys know each other, let's focus on the problem. Where's Mr. puppeteer?" Jack asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Right on cue, we heard that same menacing laugh echo from above.

I shivered & we all looked up to the roof of the mansion & standing up there was a man wearing black pants, a red shirt that hugged his chest so you could see his muscular built paired with his shirt, he wore a long red fur coat that was until his ankles.

He had messy bright red hair but his hair had long extensions that were until his shoulders. With that appearance, he _obviously_ stood out.

"Hahaha. Hello…little brats." He chuckled with a low voice as he licked his lips.

"Marionette." Eric growled, clenching his fist as he glared at the red man.

"Heeheehee. It's been such a long time since you've come back. It's been pretty boring around here y'know? Your friends are not as fun as you, Wolfe." Marionette laughed.

But, it confused me, earlier during the illusions, he had such a low & freaky voice but now, he had a normal voice.

Well, he_ is_ an illusionist.

"What'd you say you little red freak?!" Jack yelled in outrage.

But before he could charge up there, Grove held him down, trying to make an angry, shaking Jack.

"Let's skip to the point, shall we? What do you want?" Grove asked with a controlled tone & an emotionless face.

Marionette sighed. "Whatever. You're no fun." He said & to my slight surprise, he jumped off the roof. He landed on the grass on his tow feet with a thud & kept his hands on his pockets. He was only a few feet from us now & even from this distance, I could see his glowing red eyes.

I stared at him & my eyes darted to everyone. Emi, Eric, Jack, Grove, Ki…they were all staring at Marionette as well.

Is he _that _strong?

"Sigh. I can't believe you killed off my little pets. Oh, and give me back my ." Marionette said, narrowing his eyes at Emi, who now had the small black dinosaur in his arms.

"Gyaa~" the little big-eyed dinosaur chirped at Marionette.

You know those little chibi animated drawings of dinosaurs? Yeah, now the little reptile looked like that.

"What?! Why you little…fine! Stay on _their_ side! From now on, you're our enemy!" Marionette yelled, pointing his finger dramatically at the little dinosaur.

"Gyaa, Gyaa!" the black dino answered back. Marionette's jaw fell & his hat almost fell off.

"You…traitor! After all I did for you: give you baths, play with you….feed you…..uh…everything! Fine!" Marionette shouted at the little dino, upset & angry.

We all sweat dropped.

What the heck is going on?

"Marionette, if you don't answer us right now, you better just run back to your master." Jack hissed through his teeth as his tiger growled from behind us, bearing its huge teeth.

"Oh, right. I came here…for her." at the last word, Marionette pointed his finger at Ki's direction but when we turned to her…she wasn't there.

I blinked & my heart started to go in a frenzy.

He wants Ki. Why? And more importantly, where is she?!

"HYAAAAAAA!"

We looked up the sky & from above; Ki was falling at jet speed, aiming her flaming katanas at Marionette. But, Marionette had a simple smirk playing on his lips.

"KI!" I yelled and she collided with the red man. Once she hit him, the ground exploded & dust enveloped us as the dry air pushed us back.

The ground shook & we heard a loud BOOM! I couldn't see a thing & I had totally lost my sense of direction.

"Anis!" I heard Eric yell & suddenly, someone grabbed my wais then I was sailing through the air in Eric's arms.

"Where's Ki?!" I yelled as we landed on top of the roof along with Grove, Jack & Emi.

Eric was staring down at the cloud of dust but I saw nothing.

"They're after Ki's transformation magic." Emi suddenly said with nervous & hard eyes. I blinked & turned to Eric. He also had the same expression but he looked more…scared.

Ki…what's going on?


	26. A New Face the Saves our Butts

CHAPTER 26:

"Transformation magic?" I asked with confusion. Eric stiffly nodded at me.

"Transformation magic is a very rare magic and the 'characters' or little people Ki uses are other kind of spirits. Bottom line is: Ki is a very powerful mage." Eric explained.

"Then, we have to get her!" I cried, whipping my head back down to the cloud of dust.

I heard a loud battle cry from the clouds and suddenly, the clouds quickly retreated as Ki whipped her katanas around her, spinning wildly like a tornado on fire.

"GRAAAA!" Ki yelled & was about to slice Marionette but he simply jumped away, making Ki slice the grass.

Marionette jumped up the air and I decided to take action. I whipped out my hand and a bolt of electricity snaked towards Marionette who was still I the air.

To my annoyance, Marionette smirked at me then held out his hand. Suddenly, the lightning bolt topped mid-air, sparking.

"Looks like this little kid doesn't know how to fight against _a top mage_." He laughed then whipped his hand.

My eyes widened as the electricity turned to me and charged me.

"ANIS!" Ki yelled & before I could get out of the way, I was hit by my own attack.

I screamed in pain as I felt the electricity ground me. I could see the light encase me & spark all around. The only thing I could see other than that was Marionette's evil smirk.

The feeling was entirely different from touching a light socket. It wasn't just a small tingle. It felt like you were hit by thousands of very sharp needles & fire burned your body. If possible, the way I described it couldn't possibly be enough to tell you how much it hurt.

"ANIS!" Eric roared and I felt the pain go away. The sparkling light stopped and I could feel the fire in me grow even more painful. And, honestly, the smell of roasted me, _did not_ smell good.

My knees buckled & I fell down the roof's tiles, smoke coming of my body.

"ANIS!" I heard Eric yell & I saw his pain filled face over mine. I was starting to lose consciousness and I felt so weak.

"Anis, c'mon, stay awake." Eric said, panic in his voice as he patted the sides of my cheeks, urging me to keep my eyes open.

I groaned & rolled to my side, trying to push myself up. As I moved, there was still a tingling in my chest.

"Anis, please, careful." Eric begged and I could hear the urgency in his voice this time.

"I'm….fine!" I groaned. Alright. This _stupid, red, fashion puppet_, has officially _ticked me off_.

"Why, you…" Eric growled and sprinted off the roof, aiming for Marionette with his scythes out.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Eric roared and sent a jet of high speed water to Marionette, who was too shocked to even react. The water hit his arm (too bad not his entire body) and Marionette fell to the grass, his arm now wounded. How much?

Let's just say it's not pretty.

"Tch. And this was my favorite coat." Marionette said, clicking his tongue. It was amazing he looked unfazed by Eric's attack. Normal people would be screaming their heads off right now.

Suddenly, two very large knives shot out from Marionettes wrists.

Eric landed on the grass and they both glared at each other.

"Hmm…it's been a long time since I've fought with you, Wolfe. This must've been the 10th time we've battled." Marionette said thoughtfully.

"And, this'll be your last." Eric growled back & charged Marionette. They both danced with a flurry of weapons flying around them. Thankfully, Eric had….cat-like reflexes and was way too fast for the red man.

"Stay here Anis." Grove ordered and he, Emi & Jack jumped into the battle.

"WE'LL GET YOU!" Jack roared as he summoned two more tigers while Emi brought out a staff & Grove charged encased in a purple light.

As the boys dueled, I saw Ki was losing her flames. And since I still couldn't move, I was completely _useless._

Nice.

"ALRIGHT!" Marionette yelled and suddenly, Grove, Emi & Eric flew backwards, hit by something. I covered my eyes as debris flew to my face and it was like a bomb fell to the ground.

Once I unshielded my eyes, they widened as I saw Marionette was now engulfed by black fire.

"HAHAHAHAHA! This is way~ too fun!" Marionette happily yelled, throwing his head into the air.

"Alright, enough games. 4 down…2 to go." Marionette chuckled and jumped up the air, landing on the roof right in front of me.

I looked up at him, shaking and urging myself to get up and fight.

"Hmm…guess I could take you along too. The master can find great use of you as well." he chuckled evilly as his red eyes glowed brightly. He put his hand around my neck & pulled me up, almost choking me.

"Gah!" I coughed, scraping my nails against his hand, trying to get him to let go of me.

"Stop fighting. It's useless little girl." he chuckled.

"Anis….." I heard Ki's voice say.

Both Marionette and I looked down at Ki and saw she was looking down at the ground.

Suddenly, she tightened the grip on her swords and in a second, her body was engulfed in burning, bright flames.

"LET GO OF HER!" she roared in outrage and the flames that engulfed her grew more intensely, making me squint my eyes.

"YAAAA!" she shouted and jumped up the air, katanas in hand. Suddenly, Marionette chuckled.

Ki glared at Marionette & raised her flaming katanas. But before she could get Marionette, her flames turned pure black.

Her eyes grew wide and the flames intensified, burning wildly.

"AAAAHHHH!" she screamed and fell to the ground, writhing as the flames grew brighter.

"KI! STOP IT! NOW!" I shouted at Marionette as I slapped his arms. I felt so powerless.

Literally. My powers wouldn't work at all. And with the boys unconscious, no one's here to help either me or Ki.

"Tch. You guys just can't learn your lesson." Marionette clicked and waved his other hand. The flames that engulfed Ki disappeared, leaving Ki motionless and back to her normal form with blue hair.

"KI!" I yelled.

"Quiet!" Marionette yelled and slapped my face.

"Kuh." I groaned and Marionette tightened his grip around my neck.

"That's enough…..Marionette." A powerful & young voice said.

Marionette looked ahead, behind me and his eyes grew wide with surprise then quickly, he smirked.

"Ahaha, look at that. Little Skylar's back from his mission." Marionette chuckled.

"Yeah. And I get back to see your unpleasant aura. So, goodbye." The voice said with a mocking tone and Marionette gasped, wide-eyed.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of something fly through the air. Something big.

Something bright flew past my head, hitting Marionette Square in the face like an upper cut punch, making him let go of my neck.

I gasped and hit the tiled roof. I looked up to see Marionette was being attacked by a flurry of white light. Like small meteorites or flying stars. It hit his body everywhere, hitting him again and again, making him fly up the air.

"Hey, Anis right?" the voice asked and I turned to the voice with surprise.

I only saw a tall, lean figure standing before me. I didn't see the person's face since it was covered by the same bright light that attacked Marionette.

"Duck." The voice said & my eyes widened. I jumped, holding down my head all the while covering my eyes and I heard the air whistle as something warm flew over me.

"AAAAHH!" I heard Marionette shout. I kept my head down and my eyes closed.

Suddenly, someone lightly tapped my shoulder. I looked up but my vision was fuzzy and I was feeling all too dizzy.

"Uh…" I muttered & I fell unconscious.

All these things are happening way~ too much now.


	27. GIRLFRIEND!

CHAPTER 27:

I could feel the smooth and soft bed under my body and the cool air around me was comfortable. As I opened my eyes, there was a blinding light in front of them. I squinted at it and took a deep breath.

Now where am I?

I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes. Suddenly, it all came back to me. Marionette and that person who arrived. My eyes flew open and I started looking around the place.

I found I was in a very nice room plus, it smelled nice too. The room was big and spacious. At the foot of the bed was a large plasma T.V., and, at my left was a large balcony. Above my head, there was a large crystal chandelier.

And, on the door, there was a large full-body mirror that made my jaw fall once I saw myself.

My hair was a complete bird's nest. I clicked my tongue in annoyance and settled it with my hands.

I was feeling a little uneasy since I had no idea what happened after I passed out. (Duh.) I threw the blankets off me and jumped off the bed.

I saw a pair of fluffy house slippers on the side of the bed so I put them on and half-ran to the very nicely carved wooden door. (Which was painstakingly far away.)

And, thanks to my awesome balancing skills, my foot slipped and I fell down the marble floor, landing on the right side of my face with my arms spread out the floor.

I growled at myself. Why can't I get rid of my clumsiness?!

I pulled up my head so I was propped up on my chin. I blew the hair away from my face.

I sighed then got up and this time, I just took of the slippers and ran out the room barefoot.

I stuck out my head from the door and found there were two long and wide corridors on either side of me. The walls were decorated with beautiful paintings and flowers and plants stood on small marble stands.

The marble floor had a soft red carpet too. The coast was clear so I cautiously slipped out and quietly closed the door behind me.

I glanced at each corridor. Left or right?

"Tsk. Which way?" I muttered to myself. Suddenly, I saw a person's shadow coming up from the left corridor.

My eyes widened and I started to panic.

"Gah! Right it is then!" I shouted to myself in a whisper then ran to the right corridor.

I was still wearing Grove's pants so; it was really hard to run without keeping my fists pulling it up. I kept on running and turned back to see the person still wasn't there. I turned to the next hallway and bumped into someone.

"Ack!" I squeaked and fell on my bum.

"Anis."

I blinked and quickly looked up to see Eric was looking down at me with surprised eyes.

He was now wearing loose black pants and a white long sleeved sweater along with white high cut shoes. How embarrassing. He looks so cool yet I look like a nightmare.

Tch. Typical situation for me.

"Umm…" was all I could say. He blinked at me and shook his head while he held a crooked smile without showing his teeth.

"Ah, really. What are you doing running around the place?" he muttered and leaned down, picking me up and easily holding me in a princess carry.

"Hey, I can walk by myself." I said, the edge of my mouth twitching. He's carrying me way too much. I might get lazier than I already am.

"You don't have slippers, your feet'll get dirty." He said as he started walking down the hallway.

I sighed. There's no reasoning with this cat. "Where are we anyway?" I asked.

"We're still in Grove's house of course. You we just changed rooms since Skylar wrecked the other side of the house from fighting with Marionette." He explained, smiling sheepishly.

I blinked at him. "Sklyar?" I asked, wondering who it is this time.

"Yeah. Grove's brother. He saved our necks last night and well, once I woke up…the other side of the house was in ruins and Marionette was gone." Eric said. suddenly, we stopped in front of a door.

"Open it will ya'?" Eric asked and I twisted the knob, pushing the door open in the process.

We went into a room which was…really messy. It was the same as the room I was in but, it was obvious that this was a guy's room with all the dirty laundry around the place.

But, this room had 2 beds. And, I have to say, both beds are extremely messy. Heck, I don't even know where to start walking since the floor was covered with a sea of clothes, books and even bags of chips.

"Uh..Sorry about the mess. I keep telling Jack to clean the place up." Eric said sheepishly as he walked to the bed next to the balcony and set me down on a clear and clean spot.

"This is your room?" I asked as I raised my brow at him with an amused smile.

"Uh…yeah. Ahaha…" he laughed with embarrassment. Well, he is still a boy. But, I just thought Eric was tidier than other boys.

"Well, anyway, forget about all this. Change your clothes." He ordered as he walked to the bathroom.

"Huh?" I called, wide-eyed he actually told me to do that. Eric then came out holding some folded clothes and handed them to me.

"Your bag's here so, I just took you here to change. Go in the bathroom now." he said, pushing me to the bathroom.

"But, these clothes are fine." I said. Honestly, I like loose clothes since they're so airy and comfortable.

"Nah, please change. It's…umm…" Eric trailed off. I blinked and turned my head to him. His head was hung down so I couldn't see his face since his bangs were covering it. But, I swore I saw a tinge of pink on his cheeks.

"Just change it's….."

I blinked. What did he say? He was talking too fast, I couldn't pick anything up.

"Huh? Say that again?" I asked, leaning my ear toward him.

"Annoying that you're wearing other guys' clothes!" he blurted out, his cheeks getting redder now.

I stared at him and bit my lip, trying to hide my embarrassed smile. So, was he jealous? Tch. How cute.

I was dwelling on that thought when suddenly, Eric moved closer to my ear.

"You're not gonna move? So….should I take those off _for_ you then?" Eric suddenly whispered with a seductive voice.

My eyes widened and my heart pounded crazily as my face felt extremely hot.

"OKAY!" I yelled and tried to push away from him but he won't let go.

"Okay, I'll take these off?" He asked with a very mischievous expression, intent on teasing me.

"NO! I-I'll go to the bathroom!" I yelled, breaking free & ran into the bathroom.

Once I was done, I came out wearing comfortable black pants and a plain blue blouse. I also put on my hoodie since I felt too vulnerable without it. Along with all that, I wore my favorite black and red sneakers.

Once I got out the bathroom, the room was well, not completely clean but I could see some of the marble floor now.

I saw Eric was outside the balcony right now, looking out the sky. Judging by the cool air and foggy sky, it was still early morning.

I closed the bathroom door and at the sound of the door clicking, Eric turned back to me.

He blinked at me then his face reddened again. He quickly turned back to the sun, embarrassed I guess. Well, what he did _was_...umm...daring.

I walked up to him and put my arms on the cold marble railings.

I suddenly thought: "_this place is marble all over….Marble House_."

I shook my head slightly, waving the random thought away & clasped my hands together, enjoying the scenery.

"Well, it's nice this morning." I said, trying to break the silence.

"Mmm." Eric replied as he looked up the sky with a smile on his face.

I suddenly, found myself staring at his face again. The curve of his lower lip, his long lashes that sat over his sea blue eyes, and that messy black hair that I wanted so badly to run my fingers through.

I blinked and quickly looked away, distracting myself with the view of the sun.

I tried to put my hair down like a curtain since this was too awkward and I didn't know what to do. If I could leave that would be good but, he might get upset if I do. Trying to put a curtain between us was impossible thanks to the crazy morning wind.

I felt his stare on me and just grew stiff.

"Hey, Anis. Sorry about earlier. Did I scare you too much?" he asked. I blinked and turned my head to him.

He had a smile on his face but, his eyes had regret written all over them.

My chest suddenly stung. I gave him a big smile.

"Nah. _Scare_ me? Who do you think I am?" I grinned. He blinked at me with surprise then smiled with awe.

"Well, I _was_ a little….shocked at that." I said, the edge of my mouth twitching at the memory of that time.

I didn't know Eric had such a….dominant side to him…..

….I have to control this! _I'm_ supposed to be the dominant one here!

Eric suddenly sighed with relief. "Good. I just crossed a line earlier. I'm sorry." he apologized then wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me right next to him.

"_Eeh?! Uh-uh! Way~ too close!"_ I screamed in my head.

Again, his scent overwhelmed me and again, I kept inhaling that sweet scent.

…I'm starting to get dizzy.

"Umm..E-Eric?" I stuttered as he started to dig his nose into my hair, sniffing it without restriction.

"Hmm?" He asked, cuddling up closer to me and sniffing me even more.

"_Ayyy~ he __**has**__ to stop! Darn it!"_ I screamed once more in my head. I feel like I'm going insane…

"Hey…you two!" We heard Jack's voice call. We both jumped and I froze.

We turned around and saw Jack with his arms crossed in front of him and he had a sour look on his face.

He was now wearing new, fresh clothes; camouflage knee-length shorts, blue top-sider shoes and an orange and black sleeveless shirt plus, he had tons of bangles on his wrist. He actually had two spiky bracelets. (my dream bracelets) one on each wrist.

And of course, now that he had long hair, he had it tied up in a high ponytail.

Jack sighed. "It's only 8 am and I already feel sick." He said giving us a sour look.

Eric chuckled at him, still not letting me go even though Jack's right there.

"What is it?" he asked with a comfortable smile.

"Grove says breakfast's ready." Jack said still having that look on his face.

"Jack, stop looking at my _girlfriend_ like that." Eric suddenly said making my eyes grow wide while Jack's jaw fell to the floor.

"_**GIRLFRIEND**_?!" Me and Jack both yelled with surprise at Eric. I kept my eyes at him [obviously] shocked by his sudden 'proposal'.

He looked down at me with a bright and happy expression.

"Anis, you're now my girlfriend." He said. My jaw fell.

Such authority in his voice! I was so speechless all I could do was stare at him like an idiot.

"Well, now that Jack saw us, there's _no way_ you could decline." Eric snickered and Eric swept me up my feet.

"So, now, I'm your new boyfriend." He grinned, his cheeks tinged with pink. I just stared at him, feeling happy and shocked all at the same time.


	28. A 'Peaceful' Morning

CHAPTER 28:

"E-Eric…" I stuttered, not knowing what to say. Eric smiled happily and innocently at me.

"OI! Will you two hurry it up?! Get a room later. Skylar wants to talk about the situation last night." Jack yelled with annoyance and stomped out the room.

I blinked at him. Why's _he_ so affected by this?

"Oh, and if you don't come down now, I'll eat all your food. Yeah, you know I'm not kidding Wolfe!" Jack shouted like a child then disappeared.

I froze and looked up at Eric.

"He's kidding, _right_?" I asked. Of all the things I'm not good at, it's sharing my food.

To answer my question, Eric looked down at me with a raised brow.

"Oh, he better not." I growled and jumped out of Eric's arms, racing out the room.

My food!

As I was running down the hallway, I felt something approaching. I looked back and saw Eric right behind me.

"Race ya'!" I yelled, my inner child coming out. Eric knit his brows at me in confusion and I snickered then ran faster.

Since the hallway was so long, it took me a while to get downstairs to the dining room.

I was now next to the long stairs and saw Jack panting. It looks like he just arrived too.

"Oh, Anis! come and eat." Grove called, motioning to the seat next to him. Jack's head whipped to my said seat then he looked up at me with an evil smirk. I glared at him.

"DARE TOUCH** MY** FOOD AND YOUR DEAD!" I shouted, leaning on the railings, waving my fist around the air.

Ki, Grove and another strange face blinked at us, sweat dropping.

Jack smirked evilly at me then, to my surprise, gobbled up_ all_ the pancakes on my plate. In a second, all the food was gone. My jaw fell and I growled as I hung my head and gripped the railings so hard, the wood started to burn from the fire in my palms.

He's so dead.

I charged down the stairs as Jack licked his syrup soaked fingers, completely satisfied.

The edge of my mouth twitched in complete utter annoyance and I stopped next to Jack.

"Hmm, that was really good." Jack said and burped at my face. I stared at him with an expressionless face and he chuckled then took a cookie from one of the plates and held it up my face.

"Just eat this." He smiled innocently as he waved the cookie hanging from his fingers in my face.

Very annoyed, I bit Jack's hand. Eating the cookie in the process.

"YAAA!" Jack shrieked. I released Jack's hand, munching on the cookie in my mouth.

Yes. Now I'm satisfied.

"Alright. Now kids, that's enough." Grove chuckled and motioned me to sit next to him. I smiled happily and walked to the chair then sat down.

"Where's Eric?" Grove asked.

"Here." Eric's voice replied. I looked around searching for that cat when suddenly; two hands gently pulled up my chin, making me look up.

As I did, I saw Eric's face right over mine.

I stared at him, dumbfounded and flushed. He chuckled at me, his blue eyes glowing with amusement.

"Woah, there tiger." Another voice chuckled. Eric looked up ahead, still smiling.

"Sorry Skylar. This kid's got me attached." Eric smirked and let go of my chin, then sat on the middle chair next to me.

As I fumbled with the glass of water, Grove sighed.

"So, you _finally_ made a move. Took you long enough to get her attention." Grove scoffed making Eric smile wider.

"Anyway, what are we gonna talk about?" Eric asked.

"Oh, Anis. Meet my brother-Skylar." Grove said, motioning to the person in front of me.

I turned ahead and saw a guy with messy, shoulder length, platinum hair and, he had a fair complexion. Like Grove, he also had silver eyes. Honestly, he doesn't look like Grove's _younger_ brother.

"Nice to meet you, Anis." Skylar said with a close-eyed smile at me with his chin propped on his right palm.

I realized his voice sounded familiar. Suddenly, it resonated in my head.

A voice saying_; "Duck."_

"You helped me." I blurted out, pointing my finger at him. Skylar chuckled at me and nodded.

"You guys should be happy I arrived just in time. Marionette was about to turn you guys into mush." Skylar said, biting on an apple.

"When'd you get here anyway? To Crocas anyway." Jack asked.

"Just a day before last night. I just came back from my quest and I was still in Albion when I got word of the Magic tournament. So, I headed here." Skylar replied.

"Well, it looks like that seven year quest was no joke." Jack scoffed.

"Yeah. I've gotten twice as many scars now." Skylar said, the edge of his mouth twitching in annoyance.

"But, did you finish it?" Eric asked with a raised brow. Skylar flinched and laughed with a nervous tone.

Eric stared at him with a blank face. "Well, not even the master could finish it." he said. My eyes widened.

Even the _guild master_ (dad or mom..no surely dad.) Couldn't do anything?! Wow.

"Anyway, back to business. Before Marionette left, he told me something…really disturbing." Skylar added and stood up from the seat, walking to the large, taller than a person window.

"They want Ki. Possibly even Anis if they're able to get her too."

I blinked. Now they're after the two of us?

"Why?" Grove asked. Yeah, same question here.

Skylar shrugged his shoulders, not knowing the answer either. We all looked to Ki who was sitting next to Grove.

She was frozen and she had this nervous expression on her face. Grove waved his hand over her face but there was no response whatsoever from her. She was almost a ghost. Come to think of it, she was silent the whole time.

"Well, looks like Ki won't be able to answer for us." Grove said as he sweat dropped.

"Her magic." Emi's voice said from up the stairs. We all looked up and saw Emi coming down the stairs wearing all white jockey clothes.

"What about her magic?" Skylar asked. Emi went over to Ki.

"Go upstairs and rest." Emi told Ki. Ki looked down at the table looking very depressed and nodded slowly then got up and walked upstairs. Once we heard a door click, Emi sat in Ki's seat.

"Transformation magic gives off lots of magic energy. Plus, it's not that easy to use." He simply said. We all stared at him.

"Okay…..now what?" Jack asked with a dumbfounded expression.

"Look, don't you guys remember that after we had that guild war with The Seven Phantoms, they completely quieted down?" Emi asked, looking at the guys. They nodded in response. I simply stared at them.

I guess I'll just watch from the sidelines.

"Yeah, right when Eric and the masters left for the mortal world, they've become…active." Emi said with a tight face.

"What? You guys never said anything about this." Eric suddenly said, leaning in with a slightly annoyed face.

"Hey, I was on a seven year adventure." Skylar quickly said, raising his arms defensively.

"I was sent to Magnolia to do help out Fairy Tail." Grove blurted. Our eyes then went to Jack who was simply sitting comfortably with his ankles crossed on top of the table.

Jack noticed we were all looking at him so he put his feet down.

"Umm…hahaha….I didn't know." Jack laughed nervously. Suddenly, Eric was standing over Jack, holding him in a choke hold.

Grove, Skylar, Emi and I rolled our eyes as Jack made choking noises and slapped Eric's arm as if he badly needed Eric to let go.

"You idiot. You should've been giving me updates. You lazy bum." Eric hissed as he let Jack go, making him fall to the floor.

It looks like the members follow Eric the most, and are terrified of him too.

"I forgot. I'm sorry." Jack apologized, clinging to Eric's leg with a sparkling, puppy dog face. Eric glared down at him and at that, Jack cowered in a corner; depressed.

"Anyway, I've been hearing things like the Seven Phantoms picking fights with other guilds and, those guilds that they've battled all closed down. Since all the wizards have…lost their powers." Emi said.

At the last sentence we all unexpectedly flinched.

"Lost their powers?" Skylar asked with a doubting and disbelieving tone. Emi nodded in reply.

"Wait, now that I think about it, those Coors look and feel _awfully_ familiar. It's like I've seen them before." Skylar said thoughtfully.

Eric snapped his fingers, a triumphant look on his face. "Chrome guild." He answered.

"Right! The Animating magic guild. They were still active before Skylar left but, just two years ago, the guild went into ruin. It looked like they went through a _very_ tough battle and all the guild members disappeared too." Grove said.

"So, what does all this mean?" I asked.

"It's just a theory but…The Seven Phantoms might have something big planned." Emi said. The others nodded in agreement.

"But, what is it?" I heard Eric mutter under his breath.

Right on cue, we heard Ki's scream coming from upstairs.


	29. The Second 'Ghost'

CHAPTER 29:

My heart froze and I immediately got out my seat and ran up the stairs as fast as I can.

"KI!" I shouted and stopped at the end of the stairs.

There were so many rooms! Which room is hers?!

Oh, what the heck. It's better to scream out her name.

"Ki! Where are you?!" I yelled and ran though the hallway.

"Ki, answer me!" I shouted. As I ran and opened doors, a loud BOOM! shook the house.

I tripped on my feet and growled. Suddenly, someone pulled me up from behind and Skylar, Jack and Emi sped past me then went into the farthest room. I turned and saw Eric with an angry expression on his face along with Grove who was standing behind Eric and guarding our backs.

"They've come for her." he said.

"Let her go!" We heard Skylar yell.

Suddenly, we heard another shout from the room and Skylar, Jack and Emi were thrown out the room then hit the wall with their backs. Emi slowly pulled up his head and his eyes widened.

Suddenly, a long black spear popped out the room, stabbing Emi's right shoulder.

"AAAH!" Emi yelled in pain as the spear drove into his shoulder blade.

"We have to help!" I shouted and ran to them. As I came near, a woman with long black hair and purple clothes came out the room.

"Sorry, but we'll be taking the Transformation mage now." the woman said with a powerful and attractive voice.

"Marionette, take the mage." She said then turned to us and Eric quickly pulled me back.

"Don't order me around Lilani! Tch." I heard Marionette's voice complain. Suddenly, there was a light coming from the room and it quickly disappeared.

"Lilani." Eric growled and his scythes came out from his left arm.

The woman was tall and well, she basically looked like a model with her body and face.

"Oh, Wolfe. You're back." she said and her eyes floated to me.

"Ah, the master's daughter. We could use her too. So….give us the girl." She said and held out her hand. My eyes widened as purple wisps or ropes sped towards us.

Suddenly, a jet of water flew out from Eric's hand and went through the purple wisps and headed for Lilani. "Over my dead body." Eric growled deeply, his scythes coming out his hands.

Lilani simply chuckled at him and as the water was about to hit her, she simply flicked her hand, making the water explode and rain down on us.

"Think that'll work on me?" she laughed. "Wolfe, don't do idiotic things. You know what happened the last time we fought." She said with a smile.

"Where's Ki?" Eric asked and as we backed away, I could see Emi pulling the spear out of his shoulder and Skylar slowly crawling into the room. We have to distract her.

"What do you need Ki for?" I blurted and Eric looked down at me, surprised. Lilani narrowed her eyes at me.

"What? Your guild is so _weak_ you need a powerful mage like her?" I taunted, aiming to annoy her. And, it worked she glared at me and whipped out her hand making the purple wisps fly to me.

I smiled and whipped out my hand sending a strong jet of air. since it was invisible, Lilani knit her brows in confusion and her eyes widened as the strong wind hit her body, making her fly back and hit the wall with such force, the wall cracked as she wilted down the floor.

"Woah." Eric muttered. "I really_ am_ falling behind." Eric laughed and I cracked a smile.

Suddenly, something wrapped around my body and I flew towards Lilani.

"WAAH!" I yelled and I was thrown to the wall. I hit it with my back and I fell to the floor, my neck hurting.

"Ugh." I groaned.

"ANIS!" Eric yelled and someone pulled me up. Looking up, I saw lilani's face up close and glared at her.

She laughed at me. "Well, you _are_ powerful. Too bad you're not powerful enough." She smiled and she turned to the room with me being dragged behind her wrapped up in the purple wisps.

But once she turned, Skylar, Jack and Emi were standing together and between them, a huge white ball with blue sparkling stars in it.

"Surprise." Jack said with a smile and the ball of light flew to Lilani. Suddenly, Lilani's wisps quickly let go of me and the woman disappeared into purple smoke.

"Tch. Oh well, we have Forestt anyway. Ta'." Her voice echoed from the smoke and the smoke disappeared.

I stayed lying on the carpeted floor, staring at the ceiling. They got Ki from us. I closed my eyes in disgust and put my arm over my eyes, my back hurting.

"Anis! You okay?" Skylar's voice asked. I nodded weakly in reply.

"Don't worry. We'll get her back." Emi said. I gulped and slowly sat up, wincing at the pain on my back.

Eric came along with Grove and carefully pulled me up.

"C'mon. We need to tell the masters." Eric said.

"Right." they agreed and Grove, Skylar, Jack and Emi went ahead, running downstairs but Eric stayed with me. I stared at the red carpet, not knowing what to do or where to find Ki.

"Anis."

I looked up and saw Eric's face right above mine, looking down at me with thoughtful eyes. I sighed then looked away.

"Stop this." He suddenly ordered. I blinked and looked up at him to see he now had a tough and powerful glance.

"Stop looking so depressed." He ordered and took my hand then we raced down the stairs.

We got downstairs and saw Grove and Skylar arguing with each other while Jack bandaged Emi's shoulder.

"Let's just go there _now_. We don't have much time to lose. Who knows what they're doing to Ki right now." Skylar said. Grove stared at him and sighed.

"Fine then. You and Emi stay here and get the master while the three of us-" Grove said and pointed to Me, Eric and Jack.

"-Go to the Seven Phantom's guild. We can take them." Skylar said with confidence.

Before Grove could object, Skylar took Jack's arm, dragged him to Eric and me then stood next to Eric.

"Let's kick butt." He chuckled then snapped his fingers.

In the blink of an eye, we were back in Albion city, standing in front of DiamonHeart guild.

"This is really creepy." Jack said, staring at the castle up and down. I blinked at him.

"Why?" Skylar asked with a puzzled tone.

"They haven't attacked the guild." Jack said pointedly. "They usually taunt us with a fight by breaking our stuff, right?" he continued.

Skylar blinked at him and looked up at the guild. "True…..then this just means we have to get even more serious." Skylar said and turned on his heels.

"Where's he going?" I asked Eric. Eric sighed while rolling his eyes.

"Headstrong Skylar's his nickname. We're about to charge into the Seven Phantoms' territory." He announced and strode ahead of me, catching up to Skylar.

I blinked and glanced at Jack who was also looking at me.

"C'mon." he sighed and walked ahead of me as well.

"Ah, jeez." I muttered and ran to the boys, catching up to them.


	30. TRICKERY!

CHAPTER 30:

"Don't you think we should wait for mom & dad? Or at least other guild members?" I asked as we ran through small, hidden alleys. Looking around and seeing the tall brick walls made me a little uncomfortable.

The three boys who were running right in front of me suddenly screeched to a stop, making me bump my nose on Jack's back.

"Ow." I squeaked. "What?"

"Waiting won't help us. We have to get to Ki and….fight as hard as we can." Eric said, leaning on the brick wall. He peeked through the street, looking from left to right. I raised my brow with confusion.

"_Why's he doing that?"_ I thought to myself. He turned to us and nodded once.

"Clear. Let's go." He said and we all ran out into the open streets. Once we got out, it was like any normal day. People walking around, the shops were open and children were running around, playing happily.

"Which way's the Phantom's guild?" I asked as we turned another street.

"Its way up in the mountains." Skylar simply said and I flinched.

Suddenly, Jack clicked his tongue in annoyance. "This won't work." He growled then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, we were all riding a very long red dragon.

My eyes widened and my jaw fell with amazement. "WOAH!" I screamed as we flew up the sky in jet speed.

"JACK!" Skylar shouted through the wind and suddenly doubled over with his hand covering his mouth. In a second, he looked green and sick.

I raised my brow with a mischievous smile. "Do you have flying sickness?" I giggled.

"S—shut up…urgh." He muttered weakly and slumped on Eric's back.

"Hey! Don't you dare throw up on me!" yelled Eric and continued to steer the dragon towards the mountains.

After a while of flying through the wind, we carefully landed on a high hill where from up there we could see a classic bad guy hideout; a huge black castle with many towers and the highest tower bore the symbol of The Seven Phantoms; a huge white and menacing skull.

We all jumped off the dragon except for Skylar who simply fell down.

"Whoa!" Jack gasped and supported Skylar who had a really dizzy and sick expression on his face.

"Jack…do that again…and I'll _kill_ you." He threatened and his eyes widened as his cheeks blew up.

"Excuse me!" he groaned and ran ahead of us, heading to the bushes and…well, you can guess the rest.

I winced along with Jack and Eric. Eric scratched his head. "Well, let's go." He said, looking ahead where the entrance to the forest was. Frankly, as much as I wanted to save Ki, the forest really wasn't giving me any motivation to go in.

As the two boys walked ahead to the entrance, talking about Skylar behind his back, I swallowed hard then grit my teeth.

Maybe it's best if I just run ahead of them. to make my fear go away.

Yeah! That's right! I cracked my knuckles then took a deep breath.

"Let's go." I growled to myself and ran to the entrance.

"BRING IT ON!" I yelled, running past Eric and Jack who now had a weak Skylar on his back.

Once I stepped into the forest, I came face to face with a huge Coor which stared me right in the face with its red eyes. I didn't expect it so I just froze.

Bluntly put, it gave me such a huge shock; I felt all the blood drain away from my face. With this darkness, seeing two beady red eyes staring at you and hearing raspy breathing from nowhere, let's see if you don't scream bloody murder.

My eyes widened and so did the Coor's.

"YAAAAAAAAA~!" I screamed with utter horror and shock.

"KRAAAAAAA!" The Coor screeched with shock, flapping its wings crazily. Suddenly, it flew off into the air, making me fall on my butt, frozen and totally embarrassed.

"Anis….." I heard Eric's voice say from behind me. I froze. Ah, crap, I gave our location away.

"…BE QUIET!" Jack shouted angrily and karate chopped my head.

"Ow!" I yelped and rubbed my head, pouting and blushing. "S-sorry." I apologized.

As I was getting up, someone's hand appeared in front of my eyes. I blinked and looked up to see Eric looking down at me with an amused expression.

"Really, this girl." he muttered with a sigh and pulled me up. I pursed my lips, my heart drumming.

This is so embarrassing. I have to escape.

Once I got up and tried to walk ahead of Eric, I realized he still hasn't let go of my hand. I turned to him and he walked up to me with his hand gripping mine tightly.

"No need to be so scared Anis. I'll be holding you like this till' we get out of the forest." He said with a gentle smile. I grit my teeth and nodded once, my heart going crazy again.

As we walked through the forest, I realized there were no monsters or traps around here.

I looked around the place, trying to look for hints of traps but saw nothing. I simply saw fir trees, bushes, and the occasional squirrel and so on.

I knit my brows in frustration. Frustration because it seems something is wrong and I have no idea what it is.

"Uh, guys, notice that there are no traps or huge things popping out?" I asked as we passed a tall fir tree.

Jack who was in front of me & Eric, carrying a still disoriented Skylar on his back, stopped walking and tilted his head. He whirled to us with such speed, Skylar hung, upside down with is arms dangling to the ground.

"That's right. I've noticed that too." He said thoughtfully.

"Umm, Jack…" Eric trailed off with is hand held out to a very lifeless Skylar. Jack didn't seem to hear him and continued walking, leaving the top half of Skylar's body hanging upside down.

"Ugh….Jack…" Skylar groaned tiredly with dead eyes. Eric and I both sweat dropped as Jack walked like there was nothing on his back, he was even whistling with a happy tune. Eric & I both exchanged glances and sighed. "_What_ is Jack doing?" I finally asked.

As Eric was about to open his mouth, Jack whirled to us with a very evil smile.

"It's called _revenge_. Thanks to this 'snowflake', our team lost to a bunch of girls in a spar." He said with an annoyed expression.

I stared at Jack with a dumbfounded expression, so did Eric.

"That was _such_ a long time ago man." Eric sighed and walked ahead of Jack, bringing me with him.

"Hey, you know it takes a bit of time for me to let go of things. Hahaha!" Jack laughed menacingly. We both rolled our eyes and ignored all his rants as we neared the black castle.

Finally, after an hour of walking through the forest, we stopped in front of huge steel gates with spikes on them. I looked up, studying the huge 'menacing' gates.

"Seriously?" I asked with utter disbelief. I can't believe this kind of theme is even thought of by the bad guys here. It was so cliché, it was ridiculous.

"Well, you know how bad guys are." Jack said, smacking his lips.

"Ugh, I'm never gonna let you carry me again." Skylar said from behind Jack, rubbing his head with an annoyed expression on his face. It looks like he finally recovered after looking totally pathetic.

"Ha! You deserve it…_snowflake_." Jack teased tauntingly.

"Shut up you_ clown_." Skylar ordered, butting foreheads with Jack while rolling up his sleeves.

"Make me_ flake_." Jack replied, cracking his knuckles.

Eric and I rolled or eyes as the two loggerheads wrestled each other like a pair of juvenile delinquents.

"How do we get in?" I asked, turning to Eric. Once I turned to Eric, the steel doors exploded inwards.

I blinked at Eric who had his hand held out towards the now broken down gate. Eric turned to me with a smug smile.

"Its open." he chuckled. I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Whatever." I muttered and peeked in.

The floor was a patterned like a chessboard. Tall marble pillars supported the high temple-like ceiling and, right ahead of us, a white marble staircase lay with two other intersecting staircases leading to the upper floor. In summary, the guild simply looked like a real castle. But, the thing missing was…where was the ambush? The scary monster? The traps? Where was all that?

"Something's up." Skylar and Eric said in unison.

"Got that right. Usually, when we storm in here, there would be trap doors and all that, or tornadoes, or even evil turtles." Jack said thoughtfully. Skylar knit his brows and turned to Jack.

"Turtles?" he asked with a skeptical tone.

"I hate those things. I still remember the one that bit my nose." Jack said, rubbing the tip of his nose. I ignored the two of them after that, letting them bicker with each other as I studied the floors, the pillars, even the ceiling.

I didn't see any thin line that could show trap doors, I didn't feel any menacing aura, heck, we haven't even run into a Coor for the past hour yet.

"Eric?" I called and turned to see Eric with a very troubled and skeptical expression. The kind that you get when you realize you did something wrong or you realize something bad is happening.

"She's not here." Eric blurted out, making me freeze. He turned to me with wide eyes.

"They're not here. We went to the wrong place…" Eric trailed off, clenching his fist so hard, it was shaking.

"Wh-what?" I muttered, my heart stopping. If they're not here, then….we might be too late. Ki…

"DAMN!" Eric shouted angrily as his fist sparked off electricity.

"Guys, we have to leave. Now!" Eric called to Jack and Skylar. I turned to the two of them to see Skylar pulling on Jack's cheek while Jack pulled on Skylar's hair with his foot on skylar's chest giving them a ridiculous look.

"Wha ro rou wean?" Skylar asked. He realized he said it wrong and shook off Jack's hands.

"What do you mean?" he asked properly this time.

"The Phantom's aren't here. If it's possible, they might be-"

"At Mt. Kurosai." Jack said. We turned to see him standing with his back to us in front of a simple wooden table beside us.

"Mt. Kurosai? How do you know?" Skylar asked. Jack then turned to us, holding out a piece of paper.

Skylar took the paper from him and read it. as he did, his expression got really annoyed and angry.

"What does it say?" Eric asked, still infuriated. Skylar sighed.

"I'll read it; Dear Diamondheart…_brats_." At that word, I flinched. Okay, now I'm mad.

How dare he call us BRATS?!

"Fret not; we have your dear friend with us. We didn't harm her and of course, she's still alive. Master told us not to do anything. Anyway, we are now in Mt. Kurosai. If you want her back, unscathed, come here once you find this letter. The master wishes to see you. By the way, like the… hiking trail up here? haha...love….the annoying red man, Marionette." Skylar finished with utter annoyance and disgust in his face.

Suddenly, the paper he held was encased in a bright light then disintegrated in a mini explosion.

"Annoying." Skylar growled.

"Well, now that we know, we have to leave. We can't keep those jerks waiting." Jack growled, cracking his knuckles.

"So that's why there were no surprises." Eric said thoughtfully. I knit my brows and suddenly, there was an annoying feeling at the pit of my stomach and my heart felt tight and genuine anger started boiling in me. My hands burst into strong & wild flames, showing off complete rage.

After everything we walked through, all that foliage, those puddles, the animal poop, the bickering of Skylar and Jack….you mean to say we were tricked?!

I grit my teeth and turned on my heels, heading straight for the door.

"HURRY UP! KI'S WAITING! I SWEAR TO GOD, THOSE JERKS ARE GONNA PAY!" I shouted angrily, letting how I currently felt right out of my system.


	31. Our Little Clown is In Love!

CHAPTER 31:

As I was about to dramatically stomp out the castle, once I went past Jack, my feet stopped. I backed up, going back to see Jack's face since he was so frozen.

Suddenly-

"GRAAAAAAAA!" Jack roared angrily, his head whipping towards the high ceiling. Honestly saying, he took me so much by surprise, my heart jumped along with my body.

"THOSE BASTARDS! I'M GONNA KILL THEM!" hey growled, punching the stone pillar so hard, he left cracks on it.

I have to say, it was my first time to see Jack, not as the annoying, immature idiot, but a very, very angry bull formed a visual in my mind.

"RIGHT WHEN I THOUGHT I'LL GET HER BACK, I—"

Jack stopped mid-sentence and froze. We all blinked at him and glanced at each other. I had no idea how I should react so I just kept still since I could still feel the aura of a deadly bear around us.

The next thing Eric asked was- "What do you mean _you'll_ get her back?" Eric asked with a curious and mischievous smile on his face as he approached Jack from behind.

Jack was frozen solid and it seemed like Eric asked a really _dangerous _or maybe a really _deep_ question.

Jack then stiffly turned to us, his panicked face tomato red. As if he chewed on some very spicy pepper.

"Uh-um, I-I just meant, umm…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his head and avoiding eye contact with us.

"Oh~" Skylar suddenly cooed, nodding with his finger to his lip as if he found something out. Skylar then shook his head, his expression turning to pity.

"Poor kid, caught up by all these…..things." Skylar sighed, a tinge of [very] slight sadness in his voice. I knit my brows suddenly, I realized something.

Jack blushing at the thought of saving Ki by himself, Eric and Skylar teasing him…!

Does this mean-

"JACK LIKES KI?!" I yelled with utter surprise in my voice. Once I realized I screamed, my hand flew to my mouth.

Jack glared at me while Eric tried to hide his smile and Skylar laughed silently, wheezing in one corner of the room, trying to control himself.

Jack suddenly knit his brows and whipped his head, turning away from us.

"No. I don't like her. I-I just said it wrong and it was too embarrassing…" Jack trailed off. But, seeing that ting of pink on his cheeks, it seems I hit the bull's eye.

He then turned back to us with his annoying face: brows knit together, his lower lip slightly pouting and a glint of stubbornness and bossiness in his eyes.

"Stop staring at me and let's go! The master's are gonna scold us if we don't get her back!" Jack said his voice scolding. He then looked ahead, stomping out of the castle. I blinked and shrugged.

Guess it's no use arguing with him about Ki. I'll just annoy him later.

We were about to follow him since he was almost far from the castle but then a thought crossed my mind.

"Jack, you've been to Mt. Kurosai?" I asked, walking out the castle with my eyes on the ground.

I wasn't meaning to tease or anything with that question. It was a normal question so, once I looked up at Jack to see if he heard me, I blinked with confusion to see Jack stopped walking so he had the pose of a frozen mannequin.

His head turned to me stiffly and he had a sheepish and a very forced smile on his face.

"Hahaha! What're you talking about? Of course I do! This is Jack Ace you're talking to!" he exclaimed, showing off a confident pose.

"Liar." Both Skylar and Eric said in unison. I turned and jumped to see they were right behind me, both standing with their arms crossed and very bored expressions on their faces.

"You've never been to Mt. Kurosai." Skylar said pointedly with a mocking tone in his voice. Jack flinched and exaggeratedly fell to the ground as his [fake] confidence obliterated.

But, he quickly recovered; standing on his toes and biting his lower lips in a very annoyed manner, making me roll my eyes at his expression.

"Alright! I haven't! But, _you_ don't know either, do you?!" Jack challenged, head butting Skylar's forehead.

"Of course I do!" Skylar roared, cracking his knuckles while pushing Jack back with his forehead.

"Will you two bird brains shut up?" Eric growled, annoyance in his voice.

Once Eric spoke, both of them stood straight, looking like two military soldiers. I sweat dropped.

"None of us have been to Mt. Kurosai. Master forbade us to go there after our last guild war with the Seven Phantoms." Eric explained as the wind picked up, playing with his raven hair.

"Then how do we get there?" I asked, a little disappointed and troubled.

Disappointed because I thought we would already have Ki by now. Troubled because, with these…Ahem, children, (I meant that as an insult. No offense Eric.)

I don't think we'll even be able to find Mt. Kurosai since none of us ever went there before.

"Why not ask me?" A voice called from somewhere.

Once I heard that voice, I froze like I went through a blizzard. I've heard that annoying voice before!

Once my head turned, I came face to face with our old friend, student body president Tamaki Saeki. He was still the same annoying guy with messy brown hair [although there was no debris present in his hair anymore.] and that annoying 'the boss' expression on his face.

He was currently wearing a plain white sleeveless shirt along with an orange hoodie and blue pants. As for his shoes, he wore a pair of regular sneakers.

"Oh, hey Anis. So, have you been accustomed to the weird life yet?" he asked, patting my head.

The edge of my mouth twitched with irritation. "Course' I have." I replied as I threw his hand off.

"Why are you here?" I asked as he walked towards Jack.

"I live here you know?" he replied with a raised brow, putting his arm on Jack's shoulder.

"I meant, why are you here at the Phantom's guild?" I asked, specifying my question as I crossed my arms.

"Oh. I was going to talk to Emi about going on a mission since I was bored, but when I got to Grove's mansion….it was wrecked, like a hurricane went crashing in." Tamaki replied with a dumbfounded expression.

"Lilani and Marionette attacked us." Skylar explained.

"Oh….Why haven't you told the master yet?" Tamaki asked, walking towards Eric with a questioned expression.

"Emi and Grove are already heading to the guild. We don't know if they're there already. The mansion's far from the guild." Eric explained and for some reason, there was a slightly annoyed expression on his face.

"Ah. Well, I can help you guys get to Mt. Kurosai." Tamaki said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Well, tell us then!" Jack urged his cheeks slightly pink as he grabbed Tamaki's collar with both his fists.

We all stared at Jack then I pursed my lips, keeping the urge to squeal. He must be really anxious to find Ki and it's just so adorable! (For a change I'm not annoyed at him.)

"I didn't say I could take _all_ of you." Tamaki suddenly said, pulling Jack's fists off himself. I blinked in confusion.

"Why not?" I asked with my brows knit.

"Mt. Kurosai is a very steep mountain and it's full of….surprises. Very dangerous surprises. I know cause', obviously, I've already been there."

"How'd you get there anyway?" Skylar asked with a very skeptical expression.

"Eh, I was bored one day and just thought of going up there." Tamaki simply said with a bored look on his face. "Anyway, I can only take two at a time. And, it takes a whole day to get there." He continued.

We all glanced at each other and I raised my hand.

"I'm coming." I simply said and I heard Jack make unintelligent sounds.

"WHAT?! NO! You can't come!" Jack roared at me. I raised my brow at him, pulling my hand down.

"Why not?"

"Cause! If you come then Eric is sure to come as well!" Jack shouted, pointing at Eric. Looking at Eric, it seemed Jack was right.

"Alright then, Eric and Anis will come with me." Tamaki announced.

"Wha?!" Jack gasped with disbelief.

"Relax Romeo. We'll get Ki back by the end of the day." Eric chuckled as he stood next to me. Jack blushed, his cheeks turning tomato red.

"It-it's not because of her. I just wanna kick those ghosts' butts!" Jack shouted, his cheeks still pink. I rolled my eyes at him but decided not to say anything else.

"Skylar, Jack, just go back to the guild and help if ever anything happens." Eric ordered.

"Tch. That's so unfair." Skylar pouted. Eric rolled his eyes.

"Fine then. You guys better get back here by tomorrow. If not, we'll take half the guild and storm Mt. Kurosai." Skylar said pointedly as he grabbed the back of Jack's shirt collar, dragging him along as he slowly walked back to the city.

"Oh wait, Tamaki, what about your girlfriend?" Skylar reminded with a mocking tone as he looked back at us.

Tamaki blinked at him, tilting his head to one side.

"Girlfriend?...I don't have a girlfriend." Tamaki said with a puzzled tone. I glanced at Eric and saw he was slowly backing away.

"Ah~ that bad a girl eh?" Jack asked with pity in his voice. He and Skylar both sighed, shaking their heads.

"No, I really don't have a girlfriend." Tamaki said once more. We all looked at Eric.

He chuckled nervously. "A simple mistake." He laughed. I blinked at him and glanced back at Tamaki.

"Oh. Well, we'll be going then." Skylar quickly said, sensing the situation turning ugly.

Once they ran off and disappeared, Tamaki shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever. You must've just seen me and one of my friends." He said, patting Eric's shoulder and heading towards the forest beside us.

Eric blinked with confusion and shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay then, so, how do we get to Mt. Kurosai?" he asked as we both followed Tamaki.

"Well, once we get out of Albion, we need to go into the Forbidden forest. After that, you can just leave the rest to me." Tamaki explained. Eric flinched beside me. I looked up at him and for a second, I saw him looking at me with worry.

"Forbidden forest?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. Why? Scared?" Tamaki taunted. Eric growled deeply.

"Of course not." He hissed.

"Worried about Anis then?" Tamaki asked, changing the question but Eric stayed silent.

I sighed. "It'll be fine. You can see I'm already doing well with my powers. So, don't worry." I said, looking up at him with a carefree smile.

He stared down at me and sighed. Unexpectedly, he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, but very close to the lips.

My heart strangled itself and I felt blood rush into my face.

"Alright. Let's go then." Eric said with my favorite crooked smile. I nodded, unable to speak.

"Lead the way then, Tamaki." Eric said with a content smile. It must've been my imagination, but I thought I saw Tamaki glare at Eric.

Tamaki nodded then we went into the forest with my hand tightly gripped by Eric.


	32. Meeting Halle Daft

CHAPTER 32:

"Tamaki, can you tell us where we are now? We've been walking for hours." I called with a slightly annoyed tone.

Right now, we're still in the forest although, I don't know if we're still in Albion city thanks to all the thick foliage.

I looked up at the sky but, flinched to see that I only saw the leaves of tall trees hanging high above my head. Even though I couldn't see the sky, it was obvious that it was still noon.

I sighed then kept walking.

Tamaki and Eric were ahead of me, trudging through the forest effortlessly while I struggled through the low branches and huge tree roots.

"Right now?" Tamaki asked as he pulled down low branches. He then stopped, looked left and right then sniffed the air.

"Ah, we're almost at the entrance of the Forbidden forest." Tamaki informed, looking back at me with a smirk on his face.

I blinked then heard a low growl coming from my stomach. Eric and Tamaki both looked at me, a surprised expression on their faces.

Suddenly, Tamaki whirled, turning his back to me and I glared at him as I saw his body shake with silent laughter.

Eric stared at me with an amused look and I looked away, slightly pouting.

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of me as my face began to feel hot. Eric chuckled and sighed.

"Well, guess we need to get some food." Eric said. He leaned over to me then patted my head.

"How about we stop for a while Tamaki?" Eric called. Tamaki turned back at us, his laughing fit thankfully over. I froze.

"No, um, we don't need to. I'm not that hungry." I said and walked ahead of Eric.

"Well, your stomach doesn't agree." Tamaki pointed out, looking at me with a skeptical look.

"I can handle it. I've gone a month eating nothing but oatmeal." I said with high pride. It's not because I don't want to show that I'm hungry, it's just that this way of thinking has been drilled into me. And the person who drilled this into me was none other than Auntie Emily.

Whenever we tried to hike, she would always scold me for being so slow. So, to avoid being scolded again, as auntie ate some sandwiches she made, I would be waiting for her, scanning the forest for new trails to go through. I was a very slow eater back then, so I never recalled eating during a hike.

Remembering those time auntie would replace my sandwich with an energy bar made me sigh heavily. I kept on walking and after a minute, I froze in my tracks, embarrassment flooding into me as I realized I had no clue where I was going.

"Umm, mind leading the way guys?" I asked, turning my head with a sheepish smile on my face.

Both Eric and Tamaki blinked at me, then suddenly, both their faces turned tomato red.

"Right." They said in unison. Eric and Tamaki both flinched and their heads turned stiffly towards each other, their eyes glaring daggers at one another.

"Huh. Eric, you know the way to the forbidden forest too?" Tamaki asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Of course I do. I'm just letting you lead." Eric growled.

"Really? Why so?" Tamaki growled, butting his forehead with Eric.

"Because, I want you to." Eric hissed back, pushing back Tamaki's forehead with his own.

And now, they were both involved in a forehead wrestling match as they bickered with each other.

"Hey." I called, trying to get their attention, but they kept bickering.

"Oi." Still nothing. The edge of my mouth twitched with irritation.

I gasped with exaggeration then pointed at the air. "Waa~! A giant flying pig!" I shouted. And, it got their attention.

They stopped fighting and squinted up at the air.

"Huh?!" Tamaki gasped. Eric kept squinting up at the forest canopy.

"Where?" Eric asked with great excitement. I stared at them, dumbfounded and hit my face with my palm.

"Idiots." I muttered with exasperation.

Suddenly, I heard a nearby bush shuffle. My head whipped to the sound and so did Eric and Tamaki's.

I froze and got ready for something to jump out. Eric and Tamaki appeared at my sides, swords ready.

"Get ready." Tamaki warned and I took my stance, a ball of water forming in my hand. As we stared at the shuffling bush right in front of us, we all froze when it stopped moving.

"Huh?" Tamaki rang and suddenly, from afar, I could see the trees and branches swaying violently as if there was a tornado slamming through the forest.

And, I was right.

Two pairs of tornados were quickly making its way towards us. My eyes widened and I started to back away once the tornados were getting closer. Once they were 100 feet from us, I was pushed back with my hair swirling over my face. I held up my arms in an X, protecting my eyes from the flying debris.

"What's going on?!How can there be tornados here?!" I yelled through the whistling wind as I squinted at the two tornados coming straight at us.

Suddenly, I felt someone's arms wrap around my waist. And in a second, I was looking down at Eric and Tamaki from atop a very high branch.

My eyes widened and I felt my blood go cold.

"Wha…wha…Help….." I squeaked, finding it really hard to utter another word.

Looking down right now, I saw the two whirlwinds disappear, making the forest trees calm again.

Then, I realized. If both Eric and Tamaki are down there….then who's carrying me?!

When I turned my head to see who took me to such a terrible place, I sweat-dropped.

Carrying me was a tall, attractive woman with flowing red-hair tied in a high ponytail. Her clothes were very ninja like-An all black fitted jumpsuit that showed her sexy figure and slightly showed off her bare, broad shoulders.

She was carrying me with her left arm without any trace of effort shown in her hypnotizing, yellow, cat-like eyes. I blinked at her, amazed at her fearsome beauty.

Suddenly, she looked down at me, glaring.

My spine tingled with my brain telling me to stop staring at her and, I wanted to look away but, I really couldn't. The longer I stared at her pupils, the more I started to feel really sleepy.

As my eyelids were getting heavier, the woman blinked, breaking eye contact with me, and I felt my drowsiness disappear in an instant.

Suddenly, she tightened her grip around my waist. I knit my brows, getting slightly irritated since I hated being handled like that. I started squirming in her lion's grasp.

"Let, let go." I said, looking down at Eric and Tamaki who were now looking for me.

"Who are you?" an attractive and slightly high voice asked. I shuddered and realized the one who talked was the woman.

"Who are _you_?" I asked as well, looking up at her. she stared at me, scowling a bit. Suddenly, she grinned at me.

"My name's Halle Daft." She said. I blinked at her and sighed.

"Okay then. So, put me down now." I simply said with bored eyes. She blinked at me, her eyes full of confusion.

"What the….." she mumbled under her breath.

"ANIS!" I heard Tamaki yell, but before I could look down, Halle was already wobbling, losing her balance. My eyes widened and I gasped.

"KYAAAAA~!" Halle screeched, trying to find her balance.

"WHOA!" I shouted back as I tottered along with her. then, after a few seconds, Halle finally lost her balance and we fell through the air.

"KYAAAA~!" She screamed as we flew downwards. On the other hand, I was way too busy staring at the ground, getting closer and closer to my eyes. with my arms stretched and my heart beating like a drum, my mind was blank.

Suddenly, my heart raced even more and my body started to feel hot.

A few inches before I could hit the ground, I came to an abrupt halt.

I blinked, stunned with how close my face was to the ground.

What made me stop? I glanced down, looking under myself and saw the leaves under me swirling gently, like there were small gusts of air holding up my body.

"Wha?" I muttered and the leaves stopped moving under me. I froze and plopped onto the forest floor.

I pulled up my head and spit out some leaves.

"Eugh.." I shuddered, getting off my stomach. as I was dusting myself, eric ran to me, pulling me into his arms.

"Anis….are you okay?" he asked, a tender tone in his voice as he gently pulled away, caressing my cheek.

"Yeah." I replied, my heart stopping as I looked up at his concerened eyes.

"Tamaki!" I heard Halle yell, obvious frustration in her voice. Eric and I both turned to her voice to see she was facing Tamaki, her fists balled up at her sides. She was pouting at Tamaki, her brows knit upsettingly.

"Halle, what are you doing here? Don't you have a mission? And why'd you have to do that to Anis?!" Tamaki yelled, his arms stubbornly crossed in front of himself.

Halle blinked at him and sighed, straightening herself as she crossed her arms as well.

"I just thought she was an enemy attacking the two of you." Halle said, her chin up high.

"Who is she?" I asked, annoyed at what she just pulled on me.

"Halle." Eric called and I froze at the tone of his voice. He sounded a little…mad.

The red haired girl whipped her head towards us and for a second, she gave me a cold glare.

"What?" Halle asked.

"Don't ever do that again, unless you want me to punch you." Eric said flatly. I glanced at him and shuddered at the fierce anger in his face.

Halle flinched and for a split second, she showed a hint of genuine hurt. She hung her head and clenched her fist.

"Whatever." She growled and pulled up her head. Now she had put on a confident and stubborn look, her chin held up high as if she were the leader.

"What are you even doing here?" she asked Eric. Eric stared at her and sighed.

"Ki's been kidnapped." He blurted. Halle blinked and shrugged her shoulders.

Eric explained the details to her and she glanced at the three of us, clear boredom in her eyes.

"Huh, the 7 Phantoms eh?…well, I wanna help." She said, flipping her fiery hair. A sudden annoyance swept over me and I resisted the urge to hiss at her.

Honestly saying….I don't like her one bit.

"Have you even finished your mission? You know that the masters would be furious if you just ran off from another mission." Tamaki scolded, walking next to us as he crossed his arms.

"I told you, I finished it." she hissed at Tamaki, annoyance in her voice.

"Why do you even want to help?" Tamaki asked. Halle grinned at us, her cat eyes glinting with lust.

"I'm not gonna let that girlie take away my status am i?" she purred.


	33. A Magic Carpet Ride

CHAPTER 33:

Eric stared at Halle, probably debating to himself whether or not he should let her come with us.

Halle raised her brow at Eric. "Oh, come on. You know you can use my air magic against the phantoms. Plus, I have a thing to settle with….one of them." Halle said, sighing heavily as she finished her sentence.

"She's right Wolfe. We could actually need another hand. This is the 7 phantoms we're talking about." Tamaki agreed.

Eric sighed and nodded once.

"Alright. Let's keep going shall we? Tamaki, lead the way." Eric called, nodding at Tamaki for him to continue walking.

Halle grinned at herself and once we started walking, she quickly pulled me away from Eric and pushed me away from them, almost making me fall the leafy floor.

"So, Eric, how've you been?" I heard her ask, as I stared at her, flabbergasted with my mouth agape like a fish out of water.

They both walked ahead of me, leaving me at the far back.

The edge of my mouth twitched with irritation.

"Why that…" I hissed to myself. I decided it was better to walk alone rather than play tug of war with her.

"Alright, we're here." Tamaki announced as he pushed away a long branch with his arm.

All this time I was still in the back, trailing after Halle and Eric. Sometimes Eric would give me worried glances but Halle would quickly make him look back at her.

Whenever she did, I felt a pang of anger and annoyance hit me. Is this what jealousy is?

I shook my head, making the thought go away.

"Anis, come here." Eric called.

While I was struggling to get to him, he tugged on my wrist and pulled me in his arms. I looked up at him with surprise since he was so close and blushed as he stared into my eyes.

I quickly looked away and sighed.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry." I said and since I was so embarrassed, I walked ahead of Eric and stopped behind Tamaki.

Tamaki turned his head to me, surprised I was actually behind him and glanced between me and Eric then raised his brow at me, probably wondering what was going on.

I looked away from him, avoiding eye contact.

My eyes then wandered ahead to see a normal, dark, misty forest.

"C'mon." Tamaki remarked and walked into the mist. I followed him, not looking back at Eric and Halle. If I did, I might get annoyed.

As we walked through another forest, I found it easier since I was used to this mossy and flat terrain.

"How long until we get to the Seven phantoms?" I asked, getting a little anxious. Ki's been there for who knows how long. And, having thoughts of those jerks torturing her or something made me even more nervous and angry.

"Not too long now. Mt. Kurosai is closer now." Tamaki said, jumping over a fallen tree. I jumped over it as well and landed on the soft mushy moss.

"Well, once we get there, what do we do?" I asked, looking up at Tamaki with a raised brow.

"I told you, just leave the rest to me." he said, turning his head to me and smiling crookedly. Suddenly, he stared at me. I stared back puzzlingly. As I was, Tamaki's face quickly turned bright red.

"Um…anyway, Wolfe!" Tamaki yelled, calling Eric from behind us.

"Hn?" Eric hummed in reply.

"What do the Seven Phantoms want with Ki?" Tamaki asked. Suddenly, Eric was right next to me.

"Emi said it must be something about her transformation magic. The Seven Phantoms' guild's actions have been on and off lately and it's getting us nervous. All the guilds that they've gone to war against have been shutting down and the members have disappeared too." Eric explained as we walked.

"Hmm…they must be getting ready for some kind of bigger war." Tamaki guessed.

"Oh, please, don't tell me it's just for our guild?" Halle asked from behind me. I knit my brows.

"That's…..not it." I blurted, making Eric look down at me with a puzzled look.

"You guys said that all the guilds the Seven Phantoms have gone up against have shut down and the members disappeared. Adding to that, Ki who has powerful magic was kidnapped….have you guys seen the guild master yet?" I asked, looking up at Eric.

He sighed at me and shook his head. "No one has. But I bet he's some kind of creep." Eric hissed. I chuckled at him and started thinking again.

If all the guilds and its members have been losing their powers, the Seven Phantoms must be harvesting their powers or something.

"How long has our feud with the Seven Phantoms lasted?" I asked, looking up at Eric. He blinked at me, pursing his lips as he thought.

"Hmm…maybe 200 years." Eric said flatly. I blinked at him, stunned by the number he just said.

200 years? That is one long grudge.

"Well then, it could only mean that the Phantoms want to start a guild war with us or….there's something else." I guessed, putting my finger to my lower lip.

"Something else? You mean like world domination?" Halle giggled. "That's ridiculous." She added. I flinched and raised my brow at her.

"After meeting Marionette, I highly doubt world domination sounds ridiculous to them." I said, sweat dropping at the thought of Marionette's ridiculous self.

"Why would they kidnap Ki though?" I asked myself, staring at the floor as we moved.

Suddenly I heard a loud shriek. A Coor perhaps.

"Guys, we're here." Tamaki announced. We all looked ahead and I saw that we were at the edge of a cliff that stretched on either side of us. And, below the cliff, was a misty chasm.

I looked up again and saw a tall, gray mountain. There were no trees or small plants or animals, just white and gray. At the left side of the mountain was a very distinct gray castle. Looking at it now, it really gave off a bad-guy aura.

"Please tell me that's the real hideout. cause' if this is another trick, I swear I'm gonna go mad." I hissed, clenching my fist as I remembered Marionette's stupid and annoying note back in their Albion headquarters.

"Alright Funtom, don't get so wound up. Now…..." Tamaki trailed off. Suddenly, he walked back, passing all of us.

I blinked many times, wondering what he was doing. Then, Tamaki raised his hand and snapped his finger. The air around the tip of his finger rippled a little and a low buzzing sound filled my ears. Suddenly, a long, wide red carpet appeared under Tamaki's feet.

My eyes grew wide at the sight and I snorted.

"Ah, the old carpet. It's been a while since you've used this." Halle remarked as she approached the carpet which was now floating right before my eyes.

A magic carpet. I just love magic.

"Well? Get on!" Tamaki urged. I froze. Oh crud. I forgot we were going to be in a high place.

As Halle jumped up the carpet, Eric stood next to me, probably waiting for me to get on.

I looked up at him and he blinked at me then chuckled, shaking his head.

"Don't be such a fraidy cat." He teased and lightly pushed me towards the carpet. I gulped and got on, sitting right in the middle while Halle and Tamaki sat up front and Eric got on beside me.

"Alright, let's go." Tamaki said, biting his lower lip in excitement. My heart went nuts. I really wasn't one with heights. Especially if there was a bottomless pit under us.

"Now, Tamaki! Please don't-"

Right before I could finish my plead, Tamaki pulled on the carpet's edge and we sped up into the thick clouds.

I noticed, the higher we got, the more I felt pressured and horrified. I started to hear myself whimper and my lower lips started to shudder.

"Ahh, too slow!" Tamaki clicked with annoyance. My eyes grew wide.

"WHAT?!" I shouted, panicking. No way. If he dares to make this thing fly faster I swear I'm gonna choke him!

While I felt the dizziness overcome me, at the corner of my eye, I saw Halle smirk evilly.

"Hey Tamaki! You're right it's wayyyy too slow! FASTER!" Halle shouted, throwing her arms up the air excitedly. Hearing that almost made my eyes pop out their sockets. Painfully, Tamaki agreed.

"NO! TAMAKI!"

"WHOOOO!" Tamaki yelled with glee as the flying carpet flew higher and faster up the side of the mountain.

Once we flew past the castle, I lost it. A scream I've never let loose erupted from my lungs.

"KYAAAAAA!" I shrieked, my shrill and high voice bouncing off the mountain, making my shout echo through the air.

Tamaki, Halle and even Eric laughed all hysterically at me.

Suddenly, we stopped flying upwards and we were flat on the air. I didn't know I was frozen until Eric rubbed my back, making me relax. I exhaled with relief and a growl escaped my throat.

"DAMN YOU TAMAKI!" I shouted, angrily punching Tamaki's shoulder.

"Ow! Hahaha! That was so fun." He laughed, brushing away a happy tear. I rolled my eyes at him and glanced at Eric who was still chuckling at me.

"Shut up." I growled at him and he chuckled once more as he pulled me next to him, his arm hugging my waist.

We then flew around the castle, looking for a way in. while we were scanning the windows, I caught sight of a familiar set of blue hair.

"KI!" I yelled, pointing at one window. They all followed my finger and we all saw Ki simply sitting on a wooden chair and standing right in front of her was none other than the stupid red head; Marionette.

His lips were moving slowly as he looked down at Ki. Suddenly, he stopped talking and a very angry look spilled across his face.

To my shock and anger, he slapped his hand across Ki's face, making her hang her head to the side. My eyes widened and I instinctively raised my hand to the window.

As I was about to send a ball of fire to Marionette's stupid face, I stopped myself.

I can't do this right now. If I attack, our plans will be ruined. I grit my teeth and growled at myself, pulling back my arm in exasperation.

"Damn this." I muttered under my breath.


	34. Halle DOES care About Me

CHAPTER 34:

"Tch. That stupid Marionette. He'll pay for that slap." I hissed under my breath.

We were now floating over the room where Ki was. I stared at the black tiled roof and a very tempting thought crossed my mind.

I then put my finger to my chin, a wicked smile growing on my face.

"_Hehehe, I'm sure they have enough money to fix this castle of theirs_." I evilly thought, a fireball starting to form in my palms.

While I was daydreaming about destroying their lair, I heard Halle snort from in front of me. I blinked and glanced up at her.

"What?" I asked, starting to get a little annoyed at her.

"I know what you're thinking Funtom. Don't even try it. Once you destroy that roof, Marionette or any other Phantom will immediately torch us." Halle said with a bored look on her face. I blinked at her, sweat dropping.

Am I_ that_ much of an open book?

"Besides, wasn't this only a rescue mission?" Halle asked.

"Do you wanna start a fight between our guilds?" she continued as she glanced up at me through her lashes, a spark of annoyance in her eyes.

"Halle." Eric called, a calming tone in his voice. We both ignored him and Halle glared at me.

I blinked at her and looked away, the wind blowing my hair back.

"The fight's already started, Daft." I said, trying to control my voice. I looked down to the sight of the Seven Phantom's castle.

I wasn't normally one to start or accept challenges but, with these people, they're just begging me to get mad at them. I shut my eyes and a small smile grew on my face.

"Them taking a member of our guild was the worst decision of their lives." I loudly said, feeling my eyes grow bigger with excitement.

"Ha! You are such a war freak Anis." Halle said, a spark of venom in her voice. I knit my brows, feeling angrier by the minute.

"Girls, that's enough." Tamaki loudly said. I grit my teeth, keeping my eyes away from Halle. What is her problem?

"She started it." Halle muttered under her breath. Hearing that sentence made me sigh with exasperation.

"Whatever." I muttered back.

"Anis." Eric called, making me turn back at him.

He had his brow knit as his eyes silently told me: "Stop."

I blinked at him and nodded.

"Sorry." I simply said and looked back at the castle. As my eyes scanned for places to get into, I looked at the window where we last saw Ki and delighted to see Marionette had left the room.

"Hey guys, the puppet's left the building." I smiled as I looked back at everyone.

The three of them glanced at the window to make sure and Eric nodded.

"Right. Anis, why don't _you_ go get Ki?" Eric said, a small, gentle smile on his face. I

"What?!" both Tamaki and Halle exclaimed, obvious shock in their faces.

Tamaki was actually so surprised; he almost lost control over the magic carpet. I blinked at Eric, wondering if what he just said was right.

"Really?" I asked, a smile growing on my face. Eric chuckled then nodded at me, putting his hand on my head.

"Wolfe! She's only started her life as a wizard! What if she gets caught?!" Tamaki yelled, a frantic look on his face.

"Other than that, what if she messes up?!" Halle yelled, almost looking like an insane person. I rolled my eyes at her.

Eric rolled his eyes at them too then looked back at me with eyes full of adoration.

"I believe in her. You'll get Ki back without a problem right?" Eric asked, smiling crookedly at me.

I blinked at him and grinned.

"Yep!" I grinned, my heart racing with excitement at getting my first wizard friend back.

Eric chuckled at me, his sea eyes glittering. Suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed my nose.

At the corner of my eye, I saw Tamaki's eyes grow wide with disbelief while Halle's jaw fell like a waterfall.

I looked up at Eric, feeling my face heat up again. He chuckled at my reaction then patted my head.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Eric asked, grinning widely. I blinked at him and snickered.

I turned away from them and looked down at the black roof, calculating my fall.

Halle must've known what I was thinking (again) and gasped from behind me.

"You're not planning on jumping from this height _are you_?! _YOU TOTAL NUT!" _Halle screamed through the crazy wind. The edge of my mouth twitched with annoyance.

I ignored her noisy bickering and simply stepped off from the carpet.

"ANIS!" Tamaki and Halle yelled with utter fright at my sudden move. I giggled at their reactions and right when I was about to violently collide with the roof, my feet were carefully cushioned by the cool wind. In a second, I was carefully and quietly stepping on the roof.

All that crazy training with Eric really helped.

I smiled with satisfaction and looked up at Halle and Tamaki who were now frozen, looking like total fools.

Both of them were at the edge of the floating carpet, and both of them had one of their arms out as if they were going to try to pull me back to them. On the other hand, Eric was smiling a close-eyed smile, totally happy with my control over the wind.

Halle and Tamaki both blinked, snapping out of their frozen state ad they quickly straightened themselves.

"Huh." Tamaki hummed as he smiled sheepishly, his face totally red again.

"Tch. How annoying." Halle clicked, a faint blush on her face. I smiled at them.

Well, it turns out Halle doesn't hate me that much.

"I'll be right back." I grinned and quietly ran across the roof, towards the window where Ki was.

After a few slips and falls on the roof, I finally made it to Ki's window. I gulped and, realizing this place was so high, I carefully sat on my knees, praying I won't fall over to the bottomless pit.

"Oi! Funtom be careful!" Tamaki's voice hissed. I rolled my eyes at his voice and decided it was much better if I just lay on my stomach. I then slid on my belly and blinked.

Now that I was on my stomach, how would I see if Ki was still alone? If I just pull my head down to see, and it turns out someone was there, they would see my hair swinging about.

My hands then felt around my pockets, praying I still had something to hold my hair in a ponytail. As I was frantically searching through my pockets, my hand caught a small, thick piece of soft fabric which was thankfully a circular hair tie.

"Yes!" I victoriously said and pulled out the hair tie from my pocket. I then held my hair and securely tied it, happy that I wasn't getting hair into my mouth anymore.

Honestly, one of the main enemies of long haired girls is wind.

Now, back to serious. I carefully pulled my head down, just enough for my eyes to see.

Thankfully, I was able to stay on the roof and see through the window.

Ki had her back to me and even if the big chair practically blocked my view of her, I saw she was resting her head on the chair so she was looking up at the ceiling.

When I was about to knock on the window, Ki's spirit character [Uumi was it?] poofed out from nowhere. She still looked like the same little blue chibi wearing a blue dress but, the stars that used to sparkle livingly around her had now turned lifeless and dull.

I knit my brows, feeling a tight pang of hurt in my chest. They both must be losing power now.

I grit my teeth and waved my hand in front of my face, hoping Uumi would see me.

She and Ki were talking and it didn't seem like a good conversation since Uumi seemed like she was about to cry.

I clicked my tongue and, it was reckless and someone might hear me but, I shouted; "Uumi! Ki!" through the glass window.

Uumi blinked her large blue eyes, confused and wondering if my voice was real.

I called them again and I saw Ki perk up from her seat, suddenly, Ki started to try and turn her head.

As she slowly turned her head to me, my eyes started to water and I could feel my chest tighten.

After a second, we were finally looking right at each other. Ki blinked her purple eyes and I saw her lower lip quivering as tears started to well up in her eyes.

I couldn't hear her but I was sure she said: "Anis". I quickly nodded at her, a wide and happy smile on my face.

"We'll get you back. We're here now!" I whispered and frantically looked for a way to quietly open the window. I froze and blinked at myself.

I looked up at Ki and smiled sheepishly at her. She knit her brows at me, wondering why I was smiling like some crazy person. I then opened my hand in front of me and silently thought of the word: "Ice".

In a second, frost started to appear from the glass under my hand, and slowly, the ice spread across the window, freezing it completely.

Ki's eyes widened and I smiled with satisfaction as I tapped the glass, making the entire window crack and disintegrate right before my eyes.

Ki blinked at me and smiled, genuine happiness in her eyes.

"You…you came for me…" Ki said with a small voice as the tears flowed like a river on her cheeks. I smiled widely, trying to hold my tears in.


End file.
